


A Game of Shadows

by thenightlands



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-13
Updated: 2018-01-09
Packaged: 2018-12-14 22:37:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 29,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11792928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thenightlands/pseuds/thenightlands
Summary: Shade Facilier expects that he will never leave the Isle of the Lost. But when he becomes a pawn in his father's evil plan, he will need all of his cunning to overcome dark powers plotting against him. With the help of Halley, daughter of Hades, the two must navigate Auradon to escape a dark fate.





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1  
It was another miserable day on the Isle of the Lost. Thick grey clouds hung low over the domed sky, blending with the smoke and steam billowing off the crowded tenement buildings and painting the island a dull brown-grey blur. Halley made her way through the tight twisted alleyways to the small cove hidden away at the back of the island. No one ever came out this far. Mal and her gang and Uma and her cronies had prowled the main territories in the center of the island where there were shops to steal from and a view of Auradon to rail against. Here, there was nothing but rusty fire escapes and black cliffs reaching down to the muddled sea. 

The air was an unsettling mix of sickly warm steam and chilly ocean spray as Halley made her way toward the small clifftop. Ahead, the constant roar and break of the waves was punctuated by intermittent splooshes. Without even looking, she knew what she would find--Shade Facilier, pensively chucking stones into the sea to clear his head after a fight with his father. This was their secret refuge away from villainous parents and bullying island gangs--a small outcrop of rock at the edge of the world the two of them could call their own. 

As she stepped into the clearing she found him exactly as expected, hunched over the cliffside on the harsh gritty rocks. Shade was slim like his father, but not entirely scrawny, and his dark skin was punctuated with shadowy charcoal eyes. His hair was not silky as his father’s, but coarse, clipped shorter on the sides and cleanly away from the cunning features of his face. He dressed in typical Isle fashion--a studded purple leather jacket lazily draped over a black t-shirt featuring a skull and crossbones, black boots, ripped black jeans, fingerless gloves, and a collection of baubles that he usually looped through the handful of piercings that ran along his ear. 

Though she would never admit it, Halley admired his style. The skull motif on his shirt neatly matched the own skull pin she wore on the lapel of her own studded leather jacket. It did not stand out as much in the cool grey and black tones of her own outfit--a studded jacket, shredded skirt, and knee-high boots--but in her mind it joined them as joint members of a two-member gang. 

He didn’t turn to face her as she approached, and as she made her way to sit next to him she noticed why-- just below his right eye was a large welt roughly the size and shape of the top of Dr. Facilier’s cane. 

“Your dad?” she asked him quietly. He gave a small nod in response. 

Dr. Facilier was not the most violent of villains. For the most part he was cool and charming, speaking in smooth tones to lure victims in like a spider to a web. But when he became agitated, he wasn't above lashing out with his cane at anything that was nearby--which was usually Shade. By contrast, Halle’s father, Hades, had a terrible temper most of the time, but at least she knew he would never strike her. All she had to do was dodge the screaming and the fire from his temper tantrums. Most of the times she could just outlast it or yell back. At the very least she knew to make sure he was out of range of her bedroom, she didn't want to replace incinerated furniture every few weeks. 

Without a word, Halley reached out her hand and placed it gently over the welt on Shade’s cheek. Her skin was an anomaly--a gift from her father, Hades, like the rest of her appearance. The immediate air around her always ran unnaturally hot, especially over the fiery blue braid of hair she kept draped over one shoulder. Getting near her was like sticking your hand above a fire, but the soft blue-grey of her skin itself was ice cold to the touch. 

Shade tensed a bit as the heat rushed over him, then let out a sigh of relief as the cool part of her touch soothed the pain away. Halley tried to ignore the own heat in her cheeks as he leaned into her hand. 

“Thanks,” he murmured.

“What was it this time?” Halley asked. 

“I don't know,” Shade replied. “He's been on edge lately. I think he's planning something big. He’s always downstairs talking to those creepy masks on the wall and I swear I’ve heard them talking back to him.” 

Halley suppressed the small shiver that ran down her spine. Dr. Facilier’s Friends on the Other Side were as creepy as they were dangerous, but they wouldn’t have much power on the Isle of the Lost without access to magic. In fact, it was unlikely the Shadow Man could contact them at all. 

“Like it matters, anyway,” Halley continued, trying to lighten Shade’s mood. “Every villain’s plans are destined to fail. And without any magic on the isle, chances are it won’t even get off the ground.”

“Yeah, and who’s going to be standing there when it all falls apart and he needs someone to blame?” Shade chucked another stone hard into the churning water. Halley took her hand off his cheek and they sat in silence. It was hard to cure a black mood, especially on the isle. 

“Do you think they really have a better life over there?” Shade asked after a while. Halley followed his gaze across the sea, knowing he meant Auradon. 

“Are you serious?” she scoffed. “You really want to be over there with a bunch of prissy princes and pretty pink princesses?” 

“No,” Shade laughed. “But why do you think Mal and them never came back?” 

“Probably because there’s less competition in Auradon to be the queen baddie.” Halley sneered. “Mal and her loyal dogs probably have the run of the place over there. She certainly pulled one over on King Ben, and you heard what she did to Uma.” She glanced over at Shade who was absently toying with one of the baubles in his ear, lost in thought. Surely he didn’t want to go to Auradon? “Besides,” she continued, “We’re nobodies to them. Even if they’re going to start bringing more Isle kids over, we must be at the bottom of Mal’s list. We wouldn’t even be a passing thought to her.” Halley tossed a stone into the sea for good measure, satisfied by the plop it made as it hit the water. 

Shade let out a sigh and stretched out on his back, looking up at the grey sky. “Guess we kind of are the misfits of misfits, huh?” he mused. Halley nudged him playfully. 

“Hey, I have something for you,” she said. Shade sat up quizzically as Halley fished a small black box out of her pocket bound with a moth-eaten ribbon. “Happy birthday.” 

Shade took the small package gingerly, looking genuinely touched for a moment. He shook his head slightly and shot her a smirk, remembering at the last second to keep his cool Isle composure. “My birthday isn’t until tomorrow, you know.”

“Just open it.”

She watched Shade carefully untie the ribbon and open the black box. Inside was the tiny sharp skull of a bird, tied with a small bone on either side into a wicked necklace fitting for witch doctor in training. 

“It’s perfect, Hal,” Shade said, unable to keep the awe out of his voice. “Thank you.” 

Halley knew she should say something snide; things never got too touchy-feely on the Isle of the Lost. But somehow, she couldn’t find the wickedness she needed. Instead, she said quietly: “You’re not your father, you know. You’re so much more than he is.” 

Shade turned to study her for a moment and Halley felt the heat on her skin rise slightly under his charcoal gaze. It may have just been a trick of the dull grey light, but Halley could swear she saw his features soften ever so slightly as he flashed her a hint of a real smile.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shade receives and unexpected birthday surprise.

Chapter 2  
The day of his sixteenth birthday, Shade Facilier woke with a start. He had been having some sort of nightmare, which was usually the goal of a night’s sleep on the Isle of the Lost, but today he just felt unsettled. Even as the remnants of the dream faded away, the feeling didn’t vanish. Something wasn’t quite right. 

Shade’s bedroom was decorated much like the rest of their small shack of a house--a collection of dark fabrics draped over the walls and doorways, bookshelves stuffed with books on voodoo and stacked with cryptic boxes that were not to be disturbed, shrunken heads and pin dolls tucked away in corners or hung up around the room. He got dressed and pushed his way through the thick velvet curtains that lead to the main sitting room where his father did tarot readings and provided customers with as much voodoo as the non-magic island would allow. His father was nowhere in sight, which was not surprising. The Shadow man had been spending a great deal of time in the secret downstairs room that Shade was forbidden from entering. 

Shade made himself a bowl of stale oatmeal, picking out as many of the meal worms as he could. Today is just another normal day, he told himself. But the mantra did not stop his birthday from happening and it did not rid him of the unsettled feeling in his stomach. 

Halfway through his breakfast, he felt a set of thin fingers grip his shoulder. 

“There he is,” came his father’s smooth voice.

To Shade’s shock, a small plate slid in front of him featuring a melted-looking black cake with a single candle burning on top. He turned and shot his father and incredulous look. 

“What, you thought I'd forget?” Dr. Facilier chimed. “Your sixteenth birthday is an important milestone. It only comes once.” He took a seat at the table across from his son, and Shade thought he saw his father’s shadow pause for a moment before it too settled into place. 

“Er--thanks,” Shade mumbled as he took a bite of the cake. It was bitter, but surprisingly good for something scrounged up on the island. 

His father leaned forward and hooked the tip of his cane under the small bird skull necklace hanging from Shade’s neck. 

“What's this?” Dr. Facilier asked. 

“Nothing,” Shade murmured quickly, pressing the necklace back down on his collarbone.

“It looks nice,” his father crooned. “Makes you look like a real voodoo king now.” Shade tried not to squirm under the appraising look his father gave him as he ate. It was the same look he gave customers when he was figuring out the best way to con them. “You know, I don’t say it enough, but I’m proud of you,” his father said.

Shade nearly choked on his cake and had to take a few sputtering breaths to recover. 

“You are?”

“Why of course,” his father continued, voice smooth as silk. “Why, you’ve turned into a fine young villain. You’re going to do tremendous things. Which reminds me--” Dr. Facilier stood up and nudged Shade to standing with the tip of his cane. “I think you're old enough now to officially start learning the voodoo trade.”

“But I--” Shade tried to break away, but his father held firm, whisking him away from the table with his arm firmly draped over his son’s shoulder. 

“No more smoke bombs and tarot readings,” his father continued. “It's time you learned what the Facilier’s are really meant to do.”

Shade realized his father was steering him right toward the entrance to the secret downstairs room. He tried to stay cool and nonchalant as his father led him down the shadowy stairwell and through a door that creaked open as they approached. But on the inside, Shade couldn't suppress a thrill of terror burning through his core.

Inside the room was another tarot reading table surrounded by an eerie glowing green light. There was something on the table, but it was covered from view by a large white cloth. By far the most terrible aspect of the room was the collection of gruesome and grotesque masks hanging on the wall above. Shade knew his father had these down here, relics from his Friends on the Other Side, but he thought they had been little more than vacant decorations for years. Yet the masks on the wall all glowed with an eerie green light, their eyes seeming to shift with soft peals of smoke. 

Dr. Facilier guided his son into the room by the shoulder, steering him toward the tarot table and the waiting masks. The air was filled with the soft whisper of dozens of voices shifting around the room, growing louder with every step. Out of the corner of his eye Shade could see shadows skittering along the wall, always just out of sight. He swallowed hard and tried to control the pounding beat of his heart, lest these things hear it. 

His father guided him to one of the chairs at the tarot table, directly across from the masks. Shade took a seat and tried to ignore the stares of the green eyes, also trying not to imagine what his father had planned. 

“Let me tell you a little story,” Dr. Facilier began. Rather than take a seat, he leaned against the tarot table facing his son. Always the showman. “Years ago, I made a deal with my Friends on the Other Side.” The masks growled in approval. “In exchange for the power to control the entire city, I would give them a few thousand souls. Unfortunately for me, there were a few...oversights in my plan.” The masks grimaced as the smoke between them briefly formed the shape of a frog. 

“As you can imagine,” his father continued, “I am in pretty deep debt to my Friends. And being trapped on this Isle without any magic to use, I don’t know if I’ll ever be in a position to pay them back.” He paused for a moment, then flicked his eyes dramatically to his son. “That’s where you come in.” 

Shade tried to ignore the searing heat of nervousness rooting him to the spot. All eyes were on him; his father’s sharp purple gaze, the glowing green eyes of the masks, even the shadows on the walls seemed to fix their attention on him.

“What--what do you want me to do?” Shade managed. His father flashed him a devilish grin.

“You see, my friends and I have come up with a new plan.” With a dramatic whoosh, he pulled the white fabric off the tarot table, revealing a tiny replica of Auradon, complete with a miniature Isle of the Lost. “All you have to do is get King Ben out of the way or under your control, then you can destroy the barrier.” He tapped the tiny bubble of the Isle with the tip of his cane. The bubble wobbled for a moment before bursting, releasing a torrent of black that flowed across the entire map. “With the barrier gone and magic back on the Isle, my friends will have all of Auradon at their disposal, and we will have all of the kingdoms in the palm of our hands.” 

Shade considered the model, black ink seeping through the middle of the miniature cities. “But this won’t work,” he said, unsure if his logic should win out against his fear of his father’s anger. “Shadows need a conduit to do anything, and isn’t the first rule of voodoo that you can’t conjure anything for yourself?” 

“That’s correct,” Dr. Facilier replied. Shade expected his father to be simmering in anger at his plan facing such an obvious end, but he remained entirely cool, watching his son patiently. 

“So what do you want me to do?” Shade asked, suspicion growing. Either this plan was entirely and obviously destined to fail, or he was missing some key element of it.

“I can’t conjure anything for myself,” his father continued, “but sixteen years ago I made a deal with my Friends on how to solve that little problem.” 

Dr. Facilier walked slowly around the back of Shade’s chair and out of sight. Shade tried to sit up a little and turn to keep an eye on him, but something was holding him fast to the chair. He tried again, panic seeping in as the invisible bonds grew ever tighter around him. 

“You see,” his father continued, pacing behind Shade’s chair, “when I knew I was going to have a son, my Friends made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. I can’t be a conduit for them, but you can.” Shade struggled harder against the invisible restraints, his breath starting to come in ragged gasps. “I knew when you came of age, you would be perfect for the job,” his father continued. “All the power of a Facilier witch doctor, but without the magic to get in the way.”

His father leaned down for a moment, face to face with his son. “This is the only way I can settle my debts,” he murmured. “You can free us both, son.” The largest of the heads hovered in front of them. Without a sound, it opened its jaw wide, and like a slow black river, shadows poured from its mouth and began to flow toward them. “All they need is your body.”

Shade began to fight with everything he had, squirming and kicking and trying to get away. But the chair was still, he was stuck, and the shadows swam closer. 

“No! No, please,” he gasped as the shadows reached his feet and began to swarm up his legs, cold and heavy as being buried beneath snow. “Dad!” 

Shade saw his father step aside, watching the scene take place. The shadow wrapped its way around his torso and up his throat, choking into his mouth and nose. It tasted empty. Shade’s heart was pounding so hard he thought it might burst.

“A word of advice,” his father said. “If you fail the mission, well--I guess our Friends won’t have much trouble finding you to settle the debt.” 

Then Shade Facilier’s world went black.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shade comes to Halley for help.

Halley was interrupted from her book by the booming sound of Cerberus’s barking. She had pilfered a book on planetary alignments and their effects on the mortal world, but with three giant heads yowling at the same time, it was impossible to concentrate. 

“HALLEY,” came her father’s booming shout. 

“I’M GOING,” she yelled back, stomping off to find Cerberus. Hade’s shop and home was in a network of black stone caves. Although passageways ran under the entire Isle of the Lost, there were only a few main chambers that they actually used. Cerberus usually liked to nap and play in the cavern that separated their living space from the rest of the tunnels, and he usually only barked if there was an intruder poking around in the caves. 

When she got to the entrance to the cavern, she found Shade pressed against one wall, a growling Cerberus keeping him in place. 

“Halley! Thank stars it’s you,” Shade breathed. “Call your guard dog off.” 

“Alright Cerby,” she said, patting the dog’s giant paw, “he’s a friend. It’s okay.” Cerberus turned one giant head to look at her while a second head gave Shade a tremendous lick. Cerberus trotted away happily as Shade wiped the giant dog slobber off his face. 

“What are you doing here anyway?” Halley asked him. 

“I need your help,” he said abruptly. Halley was surprised to see that Shade was shaken. He was usually cool and sly if not brooding, an exemplary villain kid sulking in the shadows. But now he stood tensely, his eyes shifting nervously about and his hands and knees trembling. Something had spooked him, and Halley was sure it would take more than a bark from Cerberus to do that. 

“Okay,” Halley said, without hesitation. “This way.” 

Shade followed her like an obedient puppy as she twisted through the dark corridors. It was a labyrinth to anyone else, many of them only lit by the soft flickering glow of Halley’s braid, but she traversed them with ease. She led Shade into the spacious cavern that served as her bedroom, trying not to show any embarrassment as Shade glanced around her personal space--the glossy obsidian walls, the singed four-poster bed with royal blue tattered blankets, a collection of bookshelves overflowing with a number of volumes she had taken from the library and marketplace, a small assortment of petrified stone animals courtesy of her Aunt Medusa.   
Halley ushered him quickly through the room and into smaller black corridor in the adjacent wall. The space inside was barely big enough for them to squeeze through, but finally they emerged into a small, dark stone chamber. It was one of several secret hiding spots Halley knew of in the tunnels, and one that her father would be unlikely to eavesdrop on. 

She walked to the center of the room where a large bowl-like torch waited in the darkness. Pressing her hand to the cold ash, it only took the torch a second to roar with fire and life. She turned to Shade to ask what was wrong when a terrible screech filled the air. 

Shade was standing just inside the cavern, but on the wall behind him were a dozen shadows cast by the firelight. The forms twisted and yowled, forming inhuman shapes and roiling against the light. Shade squinted his eyes and put a hand up to shield his face, as if the light itself was too bright. Before Halley could react, one of the shadows flitted away from the rest of the creepy squadron and passed over the fire, dousing it to a dim glow. 

“I take it that’s the problem, then,” Halley said, wide-eyed. 

“I don’t know what to do,” Shade choked out. He began to pace, the shadows on the wall prowling restlessly alongside him. “They want me to go to Auradon to take down the barrier, but I can’t even get off the island let alone get Fairy Godmother to do something like that, and I would have to spell King Ben or take his place or--”

“Woah, wait, slow down,” Halley interrupted. “I thought the Friends on the Other Side were gone with the magic on the island?”

Shade shook his head. “Not gone, only waiting. I guess they still expect my Dad to honor his deal with them, only this time--” Shade shifted uncomfortably and dropped his gaze, “--this time, he promised them something else.”

“So, what, you’re taking on your Dad’s deal now?” 

Shade’s eyes flicked up to meet her and he shook his head. She looked at him, then at the shadows still dancing faintly on the wall, realization dawning on her like a chill up her spine.

“You’re the conduit?” she breathed. Shade nodded, a desperate look in his eyes.

Halley let out a breath in disbelief. Anyone who studied voodoo lore knew that things never ended well for the conduits of otherworldly forces. At best, conduits were used as puppets until the entity found a new host or the conduit was destroyed. There was a small chance they would leave Shade alone for another host if his father could hold up his end of the deal. But more likely, if Shade failed, the forces would leach off of his life force until there was nothing left of him but an empty shell.

“Okay,” Halley said, pacing in thought. “Okay. So I guess first thing’s first, we have to get into Auradon.”   
“‘We?’” Shade echoed. “You mean--you’re going to help me?”

Halley shot him an incredulous look. “Duh, why else did you come here?” She whisked away through the tunnel and into her bedroom, rifling through the bookshelf as Shade squeezed into the room after her. “The only way to free a conduit is to force the Shadows into another object or wait for them to leave on their own,” she said, grabbing a book on malevolent spirits. “Either way, that’s going to take magic. And the only place we’re going to find that is in Auradon.”

“But how are we--”

“I’ve got some ideas,” Halley interrupted. She was on a roll now, her mind whirring with plans and possibilities. “I need you to go to your dad’s shop and gather as many voodoo supplies as you can. You never know what’ll come in handy. When you’re done, meet me at the cliffs. We leave at sunset.”


	4. Chapter 4

The heavy strap of the bag dug into Shade’s shoulder as he made his way onto the cliffs. The dying rays of the setting sun glowed a dismal orange through the barrier, and Shade could feel his new shadows shifting restlessly inside him. For a moment he thought the clifftop was empty, but he saw Halley emerge from her hiding place as soon as he stepped out of the alley. 

“Did you get everything?” she asked. Shade nodded, opening the top of his tattered bag for her to see his haul--voodoo dolls, strange vials of ingredients and powders, a book or two on hexes, even a shrunken head. 

“I got everything I thought might be useful,” he said. 

Halley nodded once, then turned and walked toward the cliff face. Shade followed her warily, unsure of where she was planning to go. They had been on this clifftop hundreds of times. It lead nowhere--just the sea on one side and some dilapidated buildings on the other. He followed her to a tumble of boulders where one of the crumbling buildings was starting to fall into the sea. To his amazement, Halley disappeared into the ground, or at least it seemed so. Getting closer, he saw that she had stepped into a small black fissure, nearly invisible between the boulders. Stealing one last glance at the sun, he squeezed in after her. 

Surprisingly, after a few moments of climbing, the crack turned into a tunnel, complete with roughly carved steps. Shade followed the blue glow of Halley’s hair as they followed the passageway into the depths of the cliff. They walked in silence until eventually the ground leveled out and light began to trickle in once more. Shade could hear the crashing of waves close by, and as they crept through another fissure in the stone, he could see they were right level with the water. Just outside was a small pier with a few goblins milling about. Docked next to it was a massive barge sitting low on the water. 

“Okay, so here’s the plan,” Halley whispered, “that barge goes directly to Auradon to gather their garbage to ship it back to the Isle. That’s our way through the barrier.”

“Um, one problem with that,” Shade pointed out. “The barrier won’t let any islander through, even if they’re on the barge. Remember? Uma tried it when she was six and got so fried by the barrier that everyone called her ‘calamari’ for three months.” A ripple of doubt passed through him. Surely Halley had a better plan than this? Or were they as destined to fail as their fathers? 

“The barrier won’t even know we’re there,” Halley replied ominously. Reaching into her jacket pocket, she pulled out a small vial with a skull printed on it.  
“Is that poison?” Shade asked incredulously. She had to be joking. 

“I mean, yeah, if you want to get technical about it. But I’m a demigod and you’re….possessed, so it shouldn’t do that much harm.” 

Before Shade could protest, a loud mournful whistle split the air. With a clanking grind, the barge began to slowly pull away from the dock. 

“Come on,” Halley whispered urgently. “Now’s our chance.” Slipping her glowing hair into a black beanie to douse the light, she sprinted toward the barge, Shade tight on her heels. There were only two goblins left on the dock, engaged in a low guttural conversation. They didn’t so much as look up as the two teens deftly leapt onto the departing barge. 

Halley and Shade rolled flat to avoid detection as they sailed away into the dark twilight. Halley pulled the cork stopper out of the bottle and drank half of it, grimaced, and handed Shade the rest. 

“Bottoms up,” she said. 

Shade hesitated for a moment, wondering if Halley had thought this through or if he should be more concerned about drinking a poison considering the fact that he was not a demigod. But the moment to hesitate had long past. The barge was picking up speed and there would be no making it through the barrier without this chance. 

Shade closed his eyes and drank. 

The potion was icy cold and tasted like sharp, like oil and week-old coffee on the Isle. Shade felt the cold drop into his stomach and slowly seep outward, chilling his bones, then spreading through his muscles and skin. Even in the dim light he could see himself grow paler and could see that even Halley had a faint white aura about her, as though she too had become a spirit.

Time grew sluggish. Shade’s vision dimmed and it quickly became a struggle to stay conscious. He could hear his heartbeat pounding clearly in his ears, slowing steadily and he wondered vaguely if the draught of living death would actually kill him. 

Shade glanced up just in time to see the front end of the barge devoured through the barrier, the invisible magic glowing golden where the vessel passed through. He felt his stomach drop at the sight and squeezed his eyes shut. The barge moving too fast to do anything but wait. Either the potion would work and they would pass through unharmed, or they would rebound off the barrier and into monster-infested waters. 

A sudden warm, fizzing sensation washed over Shade, as though he were passing through a torrent of sparklers. When the final tip of his toe made it through, he sat bolt upright and looked around. The edge of the barge slipped through the barrier, leaving nothing but a shimmer where the barrier divided the black waters of the Isle from the deep blue ones of Auradon.

Auradon. They were in Auradon. The feeling was overwhelming. All memory of the potion was gone. The very magic in the air here filled Shade with such breathtaking energy that it was all he could do to stay sitting upright. His muscles felt charged, he could feel the power of this place filling him up like a battery. He could see Halley was similarly affected. She looked at him, breathing hard, her eyes glowing a bright shining yellow with the power of this new land. She let out a sudden laugh.  
“We made it!!” she grinned. Shade couldn’t help himself from grinning back. Against all odds, they were the first villain kids to escape from the Isle of the Lost entirely on their own. 

And now they were in Auradon.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Halley and Shade have made it to Auradon.....now what?

It was easy enough to disembark from the barge as it docked on the Auradon shore. The waves lapped peacefully at the soft sand, the stars shimmered in the deep blue of the sky, and fireflies drifted lazily about. Not even a mosquito buzzed by to bother them. The perfection was almost sickening. Still, Halley didn’t breathe easy until the two of them were safely nestled behind some bushes up the road.

“Okay, so what’s the plan?” Shade said, grimacing as a fragrant flower brushed his shoulder. 

“Ah, ummm...okay,” Halley stalled. 

“You don’t have a plan?” Shade asked incredulously. “I thought you said you had a plan?”

“Hey, this is your deal, not mine,” Halley snapped. “I agreed to help and I’m the one who got us off the Isle, remember?”

Shade let out a frustrated sigh and began to pace, his several shadows stirring faintly in the dark grass beside him. 

“Okay, okay,” Halley continued, “so obviously we need some powerful magic to get these things out of you while keeping you in one piece.”

“Fairy Godmother’s wand?” Shade suggested.

“No, too risky. They must keep it under tight lock and key after two VKs tried to steal it. And we can’t risk going to Fairy Godmother directly, she’ll probably try to spell them out without knowing the consequences. Or, ya know, she could just ship us both off back to the Isle where we wouldn’t be a threat to Auradon.”

Shade paused in his pacing long enough to share a glance with Halley. This wasn’t going to be easy. 

“I think I need to conduct some more research,” Halley concluded. “I know there must rituals to do this sort of thing but I don’t know where to find them.”

“Research?” Shade echoed. “Where do you expect to do that?” 

Halley quirked an eyebrow at him. Shade immediately began to shake his head. “No, no. Absolutely not.” 

“It’s the only place they have books on magic!” Halley protested. 

“And how do you expect us to get into Auradon prep? We can’t exactly waltz up to the front door. As soon as they find out we’re not on their little Isle list they’ll ship us straight back.” 

“Maybe,” Halley mused, fingers twining absently through the fiery tip of her braid. “Or maybe they’ll never know we’re there. All we need is the right disguise!” 

“A disguise?” Shade frowned.

“Yeah! I mean, you're a witch doctor right? Didn't your dad turn that old Larry guy into a handsome prince?”

“Yeah, but one slight problem: that amulet is locked up with the rest of the villain relics. Oh, and I must have left that vial of prince blood in my other pocket,” Shade finished sarcastically. “What about you? Can't you do magic?”

Halley flushed a slightly paler blue. “I'm not a sorceress or whatever, I'm a demigod! I don't do the spell-casty stuff. I'm not even sure what I can do…” she finished quietly. Her face was sullen for a moment, then suddenly lightened as her gaze fell back on the boat docks they had just come from. “But I may have a way to help us yet.”

Without waiting for a response, Halley dashed back down toward the docks, crouching for cover behind smooth rocks and lush shrubbery along the way. As she neared the barge, she could see that the surface that had been bare mere minutes ago was now being stocked with Auradon’s garbage, swept along in neat piles by enchanted brooms all marching in line. Already the mounds were growing huge.

“Wow, they really go through a lot of trash,” whispered Shade behind her.

“Come on,” Halley whispered back. She stepped out into the clearing, only making it a few steps before she was pulled hard to the ground. Shade was almost laying on top of her.

“Are you crazy?” he hissed in her ear. “Do you want to get us caught?” 

Halley shoved him off and stepped clearly into the open. The enchanted brooms continued to march past in a line, not stopping to notice her sudden presence even as she reached into their ranks and plucked one broom free. It struggled in her hands, its arms and legs flailing as she lifted it off the ground. 

“See?” Halley said, tilting the broom toward Shade. “They don’t even notice us.” She put the broom down and watched it scamper away back to its place in line. Shade followed her warily into the clearing, eyeing the brooms and looking poised to flee at any moment.

They followed the marching line back onto the barge, silently promising themselves to be off it before it sailed back to the Isle at dawn. Unsurprisingly, even the garbage in Auradon was lovely, separated and sorted into neat piles by the brooms--stale food on one end, piles of clothes, technology, and all manner of Auradon goods on the other. 

“Disguises,” Halley said, pointing to the mound of neatly folded Auradon clothing that had been so easily cast aside. On the way to that pile, Halley snatched a magazine displaying the title Royals Weekly, flipping through vibrant photos of princes and princesses on yachts and in ballrooms around Auradon. 

“Here,” Halley grinned triumphantly, passing the magazine to Shade. It was opened to a spread about the teenage children of the heroes and what they themselves were up to. “This is our ticket into Auradon prep.”

Shade scanned the page with a frown. “So? Half of these kids already go to Auradon Prep.”

“And half of them don't,” Halley replied, snatching the magazine back. “So when we transfer in, no one will be the wiser.” She sized Shade up for a moment before consulting the magazine. “I'm thinking the son of Prince Navine and Princess Tiana, back from a culinary tour of the world with your parents. And for me…daughter of Merida, tired of planning the annual Dunbroch games and itching to be in a new place.”

Shade let out a huff as he started pawing through the discarded clothing. “You really think we can pull this off?”

“I think you may have to use a little voodoo persuasion to get us by, but yeah. It only has to be long enough for us to figure the shadows out.” Halley saw Shade shift uncomfortably before giving a small nod.

It didn't take long for the pair to find enough clothes for a wardrobe, let alone a change of outfit. Shade settled on a smart green sweater layered over a collared button-up, khakis, and a pair of expensive looking shoes. Halley pretended not to notice Shade tucking his bird skull necklace out of sight under the collar of his new shirt. Halley matched the Auradon look, finding a silky soft blue-green sweater with a matching skirt, leggings (with no holes in sight), and sleek brown boots. Shade dusted their old clothes with shrunken head salt, shrinking them down to the size of doll clothes, and tucked them into one of his voodoo books for safekeeping.

Halley felt strange without her studded leather jacket on, and she thought Shade looked wrong without his signature baubles looping through his ear. But at the same time, it was almost scary how naturally he looked like a handsome prince just by a change of clothes. Halley ignored the sudden rush of heat in her cheeks at the thought.

“Ah, one problem daughter of Hades,” Shade said, tugging on Halley’s braid. “You don't look like an Auradon girl.” 

Halley felt her stomach sink slightly. There was no way she could pass through Auradon with grey skin, yellow eyes, and flaming blue hair.  
“Okay, just...let me try something,” she said.

All Gods had the ability to change their appearance at will, or so she had read. The only problem was that with no magic on the Isle to tap into, she couldn't test any of her powers. She knew there were no magic words, no spell that could transfigure her. She would have to do this on her own.

Peach skin, blue eyes, red hair, she thought. Make me look like an Auradon girl. She felt her skin tingle slightly and kept focusing until the feeling stopped, her eyes squeezed tight shut in concentration. 

“You gave yourself freckles,” Shade said. She opened her eyes to find him grinning at her.

“Did it work?”

“That was amazing!” Shade exclaimed in response. “I didn't know you could do that!” 

“I didn't either,” Halley confessed. “How does it look?”

“Oh, here.” Shade handed her a large shard of mirror from one of the junk piles. 

It took a moment for Halley to realize the girl in the reflection was her. She had all of the same facial features, but her skin was now a pretty shade of peach, her nose splashed with a constellation of freckles. Her blazing yellow eyes were now a deep blue, and her shoulder braid was now orange-crimson with no sign of any flames. 

“Weird,” she whispered, running tentative fingers over her nose and cheeks. 

All signs of villainy were gone. To all appearances, the two teens gathering a few more belongings from junk piles and setting off into the night were proud citizens of Auradon.


	6. Chapter 6

Auradon Prep was dazzling in the early morning light; the sunlight shimmered on the pristine brickwork of the castle and lush greenery filled the landscape with vibrant hues of color. Shade’s eyes stung at the sight of it--not only was he used to the muted and subdued tones of the Isle, but his new Friends seemed not to take too kindly to the bright glittering landscape. 

Despite walking through the night to get here, Shade still felt energized by the surge of magic that came just from being off the Isle. Judging by Halley’s poised and prowling steps, she must have felt the same. The pair strolled through the ornate gold-plated front gate and wound their way through meticulously manicured gardens. They were just passing a collection of shrubberies expertly trimmed into the shapes of animals--a rabbit, a swan, a horse--when the lion-shaped bush sneezed at them. 

Shade took an involuntary step back, startled. He was equally as surprised when a moment later, a small dwarf wearing a knit hat tumbled out of the shrub. 

“Oh, pardon me,” the dwarf sniffed.

“Erm, not at all….” Halley replied, looking equally unsure about this sudden development. The dwarf dusted himself off and blinked up at them.

“Now what is a pair of bright young students doing out so early in the morning?” he asked, dabbing at his nose with a handkerchief.

“Well, you see, we’re new students here,” Halley lied. “We’ve only just arrived this morning and we need to see the Fairy Godmother about our enrollment.” 

“The Fair--the Fa--ACHOO” the dwarf let out a tremendous mid-sentence sneeze. “The Fairy Godmother?” Shade shifted uncomfortably on his feet, for a moment unsure if the small creature would believe Halley’s lie. “Why of course!” the dwarf continued. “I knew I didn’t recognize you. I’ll take you to her right away!” 

The dwarf toddled to his feet and started off toward the castle, letting out an intermittent sneeze as he went. Shade shot Halley an incredulous grin and mouthed Sneezy at her. She elbowed him in the rib in response, giving him an ‘I-can’t-believe-he-was-that-gullible’ look before following the dwarf toward the caste. They followed him through polished halls and up a grand staircase before arriving at a set of ornately carved doors adorned with glimmering silver.The dwarf knocked, and a small small sing-song voice replied from the other side of the door. 

“Just a moment, now,” the dwarf told Shade and Halley before ducking inside.

“You remember the plan?” Halley whispered as soon as he was gone. Shade reached into his freshly-reclaimed leather satchel to feel through his dwindling potion stores. He had a single confusion powder at the ready just in case. He wrapped his fingers delicately around the familiar shape of the small bottle and nodded. 

The ornate door opened and the dwarf appeared, ushering them inside. 

“Now if you need anything at all,” he told them as they squeezed past, “I’m the g--gr-gr-gr--ACHOO-groundskeeper here. So you just let me know.” 

Inside, the Fairy Godmother was poised at her large desk, sipping tea from a delicate China set. Her office was open and airy, with large windows letting in a light morning breeze and all manner of delightful bits, books, and baubles decorating the shelves behind her. In front of her, two ornate chairs sat facing the desk, inviting and intimidating for any visitors. 

As soon as he stepped into the space, a hissing filled Shade’s ears. He felt a slight tug from the inside and briefly saw part of his own shadow jerk toward the center of the room. The Fairy! The Fairy. A chorus of voices whispered in his ears, layering on top of one another in their excitement. The wand! She has the wand. Take it from her! Magic. The wand. Find it!

Shade shook his head and tried his best to ignore the voices as he took the seat next to Halley. Fairy Godmother shot them a warm smile across the desk and consulted a notebook in front of her.

“I’m not supposed to be getting any new students,” she said, running a silver pen down a page Shade couldn’t see. “There must be some sort of mix-up.”

“Didn’t you hear from our parents?” Halley asked sweetly. “We’re supposed to be enrolling today, and we’ve just had ever so many problems on the road.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that dear,” Fairy Godmother crooned. “Now remind me, who are your parents again?” Halley kicked Shade under the desk and he swallowed a grunt. 

“I’m--my parents are Prince Naveen and Princess Tiana,” Shade said. Any time he looked at Fairy Godmother, the voices would start their whispering frenzy again, so he kept his eyes fixed on the polished desk in front of him. 

“Ah, so you must be Neeve, then?” she asked. Shade nodded. 

“And I’m Mary,” Halley interjected, “daughter of Merida.”

“Merida?” Fairy Godmother asked, leveling Halley a puzzled look. “I didn’t know that she had a daughter.”

“She...doesn’t talk about me much,” Halley replied, starting to drum her fingers impatiently on the wood of her seat and rapidly tap her toe. 

“Now, how do you two know each other?” Fairy Godmother asked, pointing her silver pen between the two.

“Oh, we um--we met on the road,” Halley fumbled. “Flat carriage tire and all that. Sh--Neeve, here gave me a ride.” Shade tried not to squirm in his seat as Fairy Godmother gave them an appraising stare, clearly calculating the story.

“Well, I’m sorry you’ve had such a long journey, but we’re happy to have you here at Auradon,” she beamed. “First thing’s first, I think we need to contact your parents and let them know you arrived safely.”

“That won’t be necessary!” Halley replied, a little louder than needed. 

“It really won’t be any trouble,” Fairy Godmother insisted, her smile faltering as she fixed a pointed stare at Halley. “I know all of them quite well.” She reached for the light blue phone sitting at the corner of her desk and just as quickly, Halley’s hand shot out to cover it. 

Fairy Godmother stood and let out a scandalized gasp. “Let go of that, this instant!”

“Shade!” Halley ordered, not breaking her eye contact with Fairy Godmother, but Shade was already pulling the confusion potion out of his bag. Quickly, he poured the small remains of the powder into his left palm, lifted it to his lips, and blew the pink dust right in Fairy Godmother’s face.

For a moment, she staggered backward, coughing and spluttering before landing in her chair with an unsophisticated ooomph. She squinted around at the room for a while, then melted into a bemused grin when she noticed Shade and Halley standing before her. 

“Hello, there,” she said pleasantly. “Now, where were we?”

“Erm..we’re new students here--” Halley offered.

“Right, yes, of course,” Fairy Godmother nodded.

“--and we’re enrolling in Auradon Prep.”

“Yes, how wonderful!”

“And there’s no need to contact our parents about anything at all,” Shade added.

“No, no, everything’s settled here,” Fairy Godmother agreed, scratching rapidly on some paperwork.

“And you know who we are,” Halley continued.

“Yes, yes. Mary, daughter of Merida, and Neeve, son of Prince Naveen and Princess Tiana. And it’s so wonderful to have you joining us.” Fairy Godmother clasped her hands and grinned at the two of them fondly. 

Halley raised an eyebrow at Shade. “And it seems that all of our belongings were lost on the road,” she continued. “So we’ll need new...everything.” Shade wondered if this was too much of a stretch, but Fairy Godmother merely nodded her head animatedly. 

“Yes, yes of course! No trouble at all!” She frowned slightly. “Oh, but I don’t have your rooms ready yet. No need to worry though, they’ll be ready in a jiffy! In the meantime, why don’t we go down to the Great Hall and get you two a spot of breakfast? Then I can have some of the students give you a tour and help you get settled.” She nodded again to herself, confirming the plan, then ushered them toward the door. 

Shade tried to shrug off the voices whispering urgently in his ear as he followed Fairy Godmother and Halley out the door. He couldn’t help but wonder how long it would take the potion to wear off or what Fairy Godmother would remember when it did. It was possible she would realize they were frauds within the hour. But come what may, he had no choice now but to push ahead with the plan, or else be doomed to fail as all villains did.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Halley goes on a tour and gets more than she bargained for.

The Great Hall was as magnificent as the rest of Auradon Prep. Large crystal chandeliers adorned the vaulted ceilings and ornate tables and chairs decorated the room in pleasant clusters. Two ceiling-high doors opened up to a patio space and garden, inviting students to enjoy their breakfast in the sunny morning air. The buffet tables at the side of the room were laden with all manner of food and drink from pancakes and eggs to pumpkin juice and tea. Coming from the land of rotted leftovers, it was all Halley could do not sprint to get refills.

“Zeus, these are good,” Halley exclaimed as she popped another raspberry scone in her mouth. “No wonder the VKs never came back to the Isle.” 

She and Shade were perched in the corner of the Great Hall, giving them a perfect vantage point. Students were starting to trickle in, all smartly dressed and gossiping, most not even noticing the new pair of faces in the room. 

Shade sat with his shoulders drawn up defensively, eyes shifting at every new sound. It was typical behavior for anyone on the Isle, but the look stood out strangely on an Auradon boy. 

“Stop being so obvious,” Halley whispered, nudging him. Shade nodded, absently pushing some food around his plate. Every few seconds he would shake his head slightly, like a dog trying to dislodge water from its ear.

“Do you think Mal and the others will recognize us?” he asked. She could tell he had been stewing on the idea as much as she had. “They never paid us any attention when we were on the Isle.” 

Halley mulled the idea over. “I doubt Mal would,” she mused. “I don't think she even knew we existed on the Isle. Jay either. Carlos and Evie on the other hand….” she sighed. “I don’t know. They weren’t exactly high on the Villain Kid totem pole until Mal wanted them to be, so maybe they would recognize us, even with the disguise. There’s just no way to know. Our best bet is to steer clear of them and not risk the chance.” 

Shade opened his mouth as if about to say something more, then stiffened as a pair of Auradon students stepped up to their table--a girl with dark wavy hair and a light blue dress and a boy in glasses and a bowtie. 

“Hi,” the boy said pleasantly. “You must be the new students. I’m Doug, son of Dopey.” He reached out a hand, which Halley took immediately, forcing herself to act like an Auradon girl. “And this is Jane,” he continued.

“Fairy Godmother is my mom,” Jane chimed, waving at them from behind a very official looking clipboard.

“I’m Mary. This is Neeve,” Halley answered for them.

“Daughter of Merida and son of Prince Naveen?” Jane checked, reading off her clipboard. Halley nudged Shade under the table with her foot, prompting him to sit up straighter and nod with faux confidence. 

“We’re here to give your tour,” Doug announced. 

“Tour?” Shade echoed. 

Doug squinted slightly at him, looking perplexed. “Yeah, a tour. Show you the grounds, where your classes are, where your dorm rooms are…”

“Sorry we didn’t have it arranged yet,” Jane added. “No one expected your arrival. It was weird. It’s not like my mother to be disorganized about anything. I’m not sure what happened.” 

“A tour sounds great,” Halley smiled. 

She and Shade stood to follow the pair from the table. When Doug and Jane had their backs turned, Halley grabbed Shade by the shoulder. 

“Remember, you’re a handsome, charming Auradon princeling. Act like it,” she whispered in his ear. 

“I think Mary and I will start with the botanical gardens,” Jane announced from ahead.

“Perfect, I’ll show Neeve the library and we’ll work our way around,” Doug replied. 

The two of them broke off to head toward opposite doors. Shade shot Halley a panicked look. Their plan had been to stick together, at least until they got their bearings on Auradon. But insisting they go on the same tour having supposedly just met would no doubt be too suspicious. Halley mouthed go to Shade, nodding for him to follow Doug as she trotted off behind Jane. Princess Mary and Prince Neeve would have to learn the ins and outs of Auradon Prep on their own.

* * *

The morning whirled by in a rapid succession of gleaming castles, fragrant gardens, and ornate portraits as Jane led Halley through the grounds. Jane recited a detailed historical explanation of every statue, building, and artifact they passed. It was dizzying, but Halley was intrigued. She told herself that every piece of information she gathered would help with future plans, but the luxurious rooms and immaculate landscaping were so unlike anything she had ever even dreamed of on the Isle, she couldn’t help but feel a tingle of awe root itself firmly in her belly.

As they worked their way through the tour, Auradon students passed by with charming smiles and warm handshakes, often stopping to introduce themselves. It took most of Halley’s concentration to remember to smile back and use her fake name instead of scowling. She was grateful when Jane finally announced the tour was nearly at an end. 

“And the last stop is our library,” Jane prattled on, “home to the largest collection of books in all of the kingdoms.” 

She opened another set of ornately carved doors into a beautiful dome-shaped building in the center of campus. For the first time that day, Halley forgot to maintain any composure. She felt her jaw drop as she stepped into the most incredible place she had ever seen. 

The space was cavernous and brightly lit by massive windows on all sides. Cozy reading nooks with sofas and solitary studies were scattered about the place, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere. But most impressive were the books. Hundreds of thousands of books stacked on shelves so tall that enormous ladders rolled amongst the shelves to reach them. And that was just the first floor. From where Halley was standing, she could see at least three floors, stacked and dazzling in the light of an enormous crystal chandelier that hung in the very center of the library. 

Halley stepped up to the nearest shelf and gently placed her fingers on the first book she spotted. She walked along the aisle slowly, watching her hand drag deftly over the ornate leather-bound spines of books she had never even dreamed of. The library on the Isle had always been a sanctuary of sorts, but even then it was dismal--a few measly shelves consisting of tattered spell books and dusty villain autobiographies. Halley read them until she could practically recite each one word for word. But it would take a lifetime to read even part of this Auradon library.

“Huh, I didn't picture you as the bookworm sort,” Jane said behind her. Halley snatched her hand away and turned, but Jane only smiled at her. “Why don’t I let you get acquainted for a bit while I check and see if your dorm room is ready.” Halley nodded numbly and Jane scampered away through the teetering towers of books. 

Halley made a slow round of the library, drinking in the infinite leather-bound spines surrounding her. There we sections on castle architecture and ballroom etiquette, novels of daring knights and princesses facing evil foes, even a section on how to cook gourmet meals. But Halley walked on until she found a large section marked Magic and Enchantments. This was where she would start her search. 

Halley scanned shelf after shelf of gold-embossed titles, skipping over ethical debates about time-limited magic, or endless recounts of heroes defeating evil without seeing a single spellbook. Antsy for some form of productivity, Halley snatched a few volumes of A History of Magic in Auradon and settled down at a nearby table to read. She was nearly two chapters in when a girl suddenly plopped into the chair beside her.

“You must be Mary!” she beamed. “I’m Lonnie. Mulan’s daughter? It’s so refreshing to finally have another girl to show these muscle-brained boys up.” 

“What?” Halley stumbled, still recovering from being so rudely awakened from her reverie. 

“Oh, come on,” Lonnie insisted. “Your mom is one of the biggest tomboys in royal history! You’ve got to have some good moves for the arena!”

“The arena?” Halley echoed, realization dawning on her. “Oh, no, I don’t do that kind of stuff--”

“Don’t be modest!” Lonnie said, linking her arm with Halley’s and pulling her to her feet. It was all Halley could do not to incinerate her on the spot—touching was never allowed on the Isle. Instead, she smiled weakly and slipped the book deftly into her bag. “You’ve got to be killer at archery! And track, and fencing--”

“Yeah, great,” Halley sighed. Casting one last longing look around the library, she let herself be led away by the dark-haired girl in a blue-and-gold tracksuit.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shade picks up a new skill.

There were any number of reasons for Shade not to be happy----a new pit of anxiety had settled firmly in his stomach, constantly telling him they would be discovered at any moment, that everyone in Auradon could tell he was from the Isle, that a change in clothes can’t hide all the villain mannerisms ingrained in him. Then there were the literal voices talking inside his head, coming in and out of focus with faint whispers as if to remind him that they’re never really gone. 

Even so, nothing could distract Shade from the splendor that was Auradon Prep. The castle stone was polished to a gleaming shine, the students smiled and waved as he walked by instead of scowling, and having a belly full of food that wasn’t rotted or molding was the best sensation Shade had ever experienced. Compared to the bleak crypts and rotting parlors he was used to, this school was a paradise in every way. Even Doug’s dry factual tour of campus couldn’t stop the soft smile that had settled on Shade’s lips. 

“Now that we’re done with the library and history wing, I think we should head to the botanical gardens,” Doug droned on. “It has wonderful analyses on--”

“What’s that over there?” Shade interjected. Movement had caught his eye. Just across the way from the gardens was a long field of grass surrounded by stacked bleachers. A few students wearing bright blue jerseys were milling around on the field, some quickly darting around as if doing some sort of drill. 

“Oh, that’s the tourney field,” Doug answered. “Yeah, we actually have a great marching band here if you’d be interested.”

“Can we go and look?” Shade asked, already wandering toward the field. 

“Uh--sure. Sure, I guess,” Doug said, trotting to catch up. “It’s really not that interesting.” 

But Shade was no longer listening. On the Isle, there were no open fields of anything; every building was jam packed with another, leaving only narrow alleyways and cliffs to traverse. This open green space was mesmerizing and inviting, and it was all Shade could do to resist the urge to run out onto the field.   
A whistle blew from somewhere nearby, and before he knew it, a muscle-bound boy with long black hair was jogging up to greet them at the sideline.

“Jay!” Shade exclaimed, startled. 

Jay quirked one eyebrow at him in confusion. “Uh, do we know each other? You seem really familiar...” Shade felt his pulse quicken. Here he was supposed to avoid the villain kids and not blow his cover, and he stumbled right into them on the first day.

“Oh, no, I just-- y’know, I’ve heard a lot about you,” Shade stumbled lamely.

“This is Neeve, son of Prince Naveen,” Doug interjected, strolling up. “He’s new here, just transferred in today.” 

“Well in that case, welcome,” Jay grinned broadly and slapped Shade on the shoulder, any confusion apparently forgotten. Shade spotted Carlos De Vil curiously tip his head in their direction from across the field. Shade felt a small tug from his ribs and heard his shadows hiss protectively in his ear. He tried to shoot a smile at Carlos to put him at ease, hoping to protect the image of a naive Auradon princeling as best he could.

“You play tourney?” Jay asked. 

“No, I’ve never played, but it looks fantastic,” Shade replied.

“You don’t have tourney in Maldonia?” Doug interjected, shooting Shade a quizzical look.

“Uh, no,” Shade frantically searched for a lie, wondering how Halley did it so effortlessly. “My parents aren’t really sports people.” 

“Why don’t you give it a try,” Jay said, handing him a stick with a small net on the end.

“No, guys he can’t, we have to finish the tour--” Doug tried to interject. But Jay looped a hand around Shade’s shoulder and walked him onto the field. 

“You know how it works, right?” Jay said. “You get your ball into the other team’s goal and don’t get hit along the way, especially by the darts in the kill zone.” Shade nodded, amazed at how quickly everything happened in Auradon.

“He can’t practice in a sweater,” a tall boy with bouncing golden curls and snobbish expression said. “And he’s not even part of the team.”

“Relax, Chad,” Jay replied coolly. “We’re still waiting on Ben before real practice can start. This is just for fun.”

Before Shade knew it, he was stationed at the end of the field, a slightly smelly practice helmet squeezed onto his head, and a tourney stick in his hands. A group of Auradon boys in practice gear littered the field in front of him. Then a whistle blew, a ball appeared in the air before him, and suddenly the game was on.

Playing tourney was a lot like running through the Isle, Shade thought. He had grown up dodging sharp corners and slipping through tight alleyways on the run from whoever was chasing him at the time. On this terf, he was surprised to find that his feet were nimble and the other Auradon players seemed sluggish by comparison. 

He snatched the ball and spun around every Auradon player who ran at him. In the kill zone, he dodged and ducked under foam arrows that zipped over his head and behind his back, missing him by inches. Just short of the goal, a large player blocked his path. Shade easily knocked the ball over his head and slid beneath the player’s wide-set stance. On the other side, he snatched the ball out of the air and tossed it easily into the net for a goal.

He was out of breath, his crisp Auradon clothes were now grass-stained and filthy, and Halley would no doubt kill him when she found out about all of this. But Shade felt more alive than he had ever been during his sixteen years on the Isle of the Lost.

“That was great!” Jay exclaimed, running up to him and clapping Shade on the shoulder. 

“That was impressive,” another voice chimed in. “Are you sure you’ve never played tourney before?” Shade turned to reply, but his voice caught in his throat when he saw who was complimenting him.

“King Ben!” Shade exclaimed. Ben reached out a hand warmly to shake, but as soon as Shade caught a glimpse of Ben, the voices in his ears immediately began to hiss. 

The King! The King. ssssssss. Get him. Ussse him. The Barrier. Magic. King. The wand!

The voices layered on top of each other in excitement, creating a confusing muddle that drowned out everything else. Shade tried not to wince at them while he shook Ben’s hand--an action that only made the voices more excited. He could see that Ben was saying something, but he couldn’t hear over the hissing whispers in his ears. Some of the other boys were gathered around by now and were replying, all part of some important conversation that Shade was missing.

Please, he thought to the voices. Shhhhh, I need to hear. The voices hissed their annoyance, but gradually faded, letting in more conversation with every second. 

“--so you would be a great person to fill in on the team,” Jay finished. All of them were looking at Shade, waiting for the answer to a question he didn’t know was asked. 

“Sorry, what?” Shade stumbled. Ben let out a good-natured laugh.

“I’m going to be away from Auradon for a couple of weeks,” Ben explained. “So we think you would be a good addition to the tourney team to take my place.”

A bloom of pride swelled in Shade’s chest. He had never been welcomed by anyone before. Now suddenly this team was here, offering him a place to belong without a second thought. The warm sensation only lasted for a moment, though, as Shade realized what this meant for his mission. King Ben was an integral part of bringing the barrier down. With him gone, what would the Shadows do?

“Where are you going?” Shade asked, trying to sound casual.

“There’s been some trouble in Sherwood Forest,” Ben replied. “Some sort of creature is terrorizing the castle and the villagers, but no one’s been able to stop it with ordinary traps.” 

“So Fairy Godmother is giving your villain girlfriend a free pass to use magic!” Chad interjected, shaking his blonde curls in disgust. “What could possibly go wrong?”

“Fairy Godmother has given Mal permission to use magic to catch this creature,” Ben explained. “But only this once and only because nothing else has worked. Both Fairy Godmother and I trust Mal, and I’ll be with her the entire time, so there’s nothing to worry about.” Chad still scowled in response, but Ben pretended not to notice. “We’re leaving in the morning, so I’m sorry I can’t properly introduce you to Auradon. But I’ll get to know you when we get back,” Ben said, patting Shade gallantly on the shoulder. 

Shade forced a smile and nodded, but his mind was whirring. Ben would be gone. Mal would be gone. Her spellbook would be gone. So what would that mean for their mission? Could Halley help him without such key parts of the plan in place? 

The voices chittered in the back of his mind as Shade followed Doug off the field to continue his tour. He vaguely smiled at the other members of the team as he wandered away, and for the rest of the day he couldn’t bring himself to even fake concentration on Doug’s history lectures. Nothing snapped him out of his musings until he was settled down to eat dinner later that evening and Halley plopped into the chair beside him. 

She let out a dramatic sigh and rubbed her face. Shade was surprised to see that she looked curiously bedraggled--her hair starting to let loose from its braid and dirt smudging her nose. 

“What happened to you?” he asked. 

“Lonnie, daughter of Mulan happened to me,” Halley replied, inflecting the name with a high-pitched fake pep. “She seems to be convinced that I have a hidden talent for sports, which is quite obviously not true. But not to worry, she’s determined to ‘find the one that’s right for me,’” she continued, swinging her elbow to emphasize her cheerful Lonnie impression. She let out another sigh. “These peppy do-gooder Auradon brats are going to be the death of me.”

Shade mumbled a response and pretended not to notice Halley eyeing his grass-stained khakis and muddy shoes.

“What happened to you?” she asked. “You look like you got roughed over too. Don’t tell me that’s just how these Auradon kids welcome new students.”

Shade cleared his throat, hoping to deliver the news softly even though he knew what reaction was bound to come. “I, um--sort of joined the tourney team.”

Halley stared at him unmoving for a moment. Shade concentrated on pushing food around his plate but he could feel her burning gaze, hot as fire. 

“Are you kidding me?” she hissed, leaning in to glare at him. 

“Don’t freak out!” Shade interjected. “You told me to blend in, remember? So I’m...you know, blending in.” 

“I told you to lay low,” Halley replied. She let out a dramatic sigh and rubbed her face again. “Shade--”

“There’s something else you need to know,” he continued, hoping to distract her with bigger news. “There’s some sort of trouble in Sherwood Forest. King Ben is leaving tomorrow to deal with it and he’s taking Mal and she’s taking her spellbook. They’re both going to be gone for weeks.” 

Halley considered the information, thoughtfully taking a bite of cake. “So no King, and no spellbook…” she mused. “That will put a damper on things.”  
“But you will be able to figure this out, right?” Shade asked quietly, trying not to let the creeping sensation of fear show through in his voice. “Without the spellbook?”

Halley studied him for a long moment, all signs of her usual snide humor suddenly gone. “I’ll do my best,” she vowed. 

Shade nodded, hoping against hope that she was right.


	9. Chapter 9

Pleasant rays of sunlight drifted down in the courtyard, dappling the lawn in patterns as a light breeze ruffled the leaves of the trees. The sight was perfect enough to make one sick, Halley thought, focusing her attention on her book. She and Shade were sitting at the outside tables taking a lunch break, Halley doing more reading than eating, as usual. 

“What about this one?” Halley asked, sliding the book toward Shade. He studied it for a moment before shaking his head with a frown.

“I don’t know, Hal,” he said. “That sounds like the one we tried last week, and the only thing that did was make my nose drip purple goo for two hours.”

Three weeks had passed since they arrived at Auradon, and between princess classes and avoiding Lonnie’s extracurriculars, Halley had spent every spare moment researching spells to help Shade. Since the school promoted an abstinence-only agenda for magic, she quickly learned that any books in the main library were useless old history lessons or abstract essays that never mentioned any actual spells. The only books on practical magic were the ones Shade brought with them on voodoo. And of course, the restricted section of the library. 

Having grown up on the Isle, lock picking in the dead of night was second nature to Halley. And since there was no crime in Auradon, she had an armful of forbidden magic books easily hidden in her room by the end of their first week. The only problem was that no book contained a handy step-by-step guide on how to get rid of otherworldly demonic possessions, so Halley was left piecing together spells, charms, and potions hoping something might work. Ideally, she hoped that Mal’s spellbook would have a powerful ritual to combat this exact problem, but as long as it was away from Auradon, she would have to make due with the library that she had. 

“Okay, so the nose-running thing wasn’t my fault,” Halley said. “The potion instructions weren’t fully translated and Auradon doesn’t have half of the ingredients. But this one is more of an incantation--”

“No offense, Halley,” Shade interjected, “but I’ve been your lab rat everyday for weeks now and nothing’s worked.”

Halley closed her book with a snap and glared at him. “I’m sorry young princeling, what spells exactly have you been researching to get rid of these shadows?”

Shade shrugged defensively, picking at his lunch with a fork. “I’m just saying, maybe you should do it a bit more research before you make me drink anymore potions. Treat the cause, not the symptom, you know? We’ve got the first tourney game coming up later this week and….I don’t know. I’ve been trying hard to blend in and make friends without blowing our cover. I want to concentrate, but it’s hard enough without worrying about drinking a new mystery poison every night.” He stabbed a grape with his fork for emphasis.

Halley opened her mouth to give a sharp retort, but stopped herself at the last minute. She knew nagging Shade would have little effect, and despite the weeks of fresh air and good food, she was concerned that he still had such a harrowed look in his eyes. He was cool and charming when he needed to put on a show, but when his guard was down, she could still see the nervous sleep-deprived boy she knew from the Isle. Watching him closely, she noticed that every now and again one side of his face would twitch slightly, showing her that he was trying to ignore the shadows whispering in his ear.

“Are the voices still there?” Halley asked quietly. Shade gave a small nod, not meeting her eyes. Halley studied him for a moment then rolled her eyes, feeling her last bit of prideful willpower give way. “When is your tourney game?” she relented.

Shade perked up slightly at the question. “Friday. Or Saturday? I’m not exactly sure, let me check. I have it written down.” He plopped his bag on the table, prompting the contents to spill out everywhere. Halley started helping him gather up the loose papers and stray books when a notebook caught her eye. It was laying open, and the page she could see was nearly filled with black. She snatched it up before Shade could grab it and began thumbing through the pages.

The first pages were an ordinary composition book--Shade’s notes on their History of Auradon class interspersed with a few doodles. But as the pages went on, the innocent doodles began to transform into cryptic sigils. The pen strokes shifted from precise handwritten notes into violent slashes on the page. The notes began to disappear, replaced by the weird symbols and words like KING, BEN, WAND frantically written over and over. As she flipped deeper and deeper into the book, the writing became more sporadic, the words and symbols filling the pages, overlapping one another in a frantic wave of black ink. The words became more alarming, TAKE, KILL, CAPTURE interspersing with more sigils. By the end of the journal, entire pages were blacked out in ink. 

Halley tossed the book pages-up to Shade so he could see. “How long has this been going on?” she demanded. 

Shade flipped slowly through the pages, his brow furrowed. As he got to the blacked-out pages at the end, he shut the cover and closed his eyes, looking like he might be sick. 

“Shade,” Halley prompted more forcefully. “How long has this been happening? Why didn’t you tell me this was happening?”

“I don’t know,” he mumbled, rubbing a hand over his face.

“What?”

“I don’t know!” he said, snapping his hand down to the table. “I don’t know, I don’t---” he picked up the journal and looked at the dark pages. “Halley, I don’t remember doing this. Any of this.” He threw the journal back into the middle of the table, giving Halley a look of alarm. “I guess I did it. It’s in my handwriting. But I don’t remember any of this.”

“Are you losing time?” Halley asked. She had read cases of possession where the host would start losing control, blacking out for hours while whatever was inhabiting them took over their body entirely.

“Yes? No? ….I don’t know, maybe,” Shade replied. “I guess it has been happening, but I can’t really tell when it does. It’s like dreaming. One minute I’m here, the next I’m somewhere else and I don’t notice there’s something missing in the middle. I think it’s only been for a few minutes at a time. An hour, tops.”

“That’s not good,” Halley warned him. “Why didn’t you tell me this was going on?”

Shade shrugged, looking down at his lunch plate. “I don’t know. I guess...I didn’t want to worry you, with everything else going on, and all of your research--”

Halley let out an exasperated groan. “Ugh, Shade, I’m here to help you, remember? And I can’t do that if you’re keeping secrets from me. We’re not Auradon kids, and we weren’t given an invite to join them. Or did you forget that?” Halley knew that last barb was harsh, and the way Shade flinched slightly, she knew it had stung him. Shade was getting too cozy with the Auradon life, and if he started ignoring the real problems now, they would take him before he would even notice.

Before Shade could reply, he was interrupted as three pretty Auradon girls strolled up to the table. They were each wearing short chiffon dresses of green, pink, and blue, respectively, which matched well with each girl’s long ponytail of brown, blonde, or black hair.

“Hi, Neeve,” they chimed in unison, flashing pearly white smiles. Halley resisted the urge to vomit on the spot. 

“Uh--hi,” Shade said, looking slightly startled, but ultimately pleased at the turn of conversation.

The girl with the blonde hair and pink dress took a seat next to Shade, crossing her legs and batting her pretty eyelashes at him. “What are you two conspiring about?”

“Nothing,” Shade replied glancing at Halley before fixing the girls with a charming smile. Halley could feel heat pricking under her skin and threatening to burst free at her fingertips. If she hadn’t looped her hands around the stone bench she was sitting on, half the table would have been incinerated. 

“I’m sorry, do we know you?” Halley asked, barely keeping the venom out of her voice.

“Oh, this is Daisy, Fawn, and Skye,” Shade said, motioning to the pink, green, and blue girls. “They cheer the tourney team.” 

“We’re the granddaughters of Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather,” the blue girl with the black hair added.

“This is Mary, daughter of Merida,” Shade said. Halley tried to venture a smile, but could barely coax her mouth into half of a grimace. 

“So anyway, Neeve,” the blonde, apparently named Daisy, continued, “the Hunt Moon Ball is this week, and I haven’t heard whether you’ve asked anybody.” She ran a hand up his arm and rested it on his neck, flashing Halley and inconspicuous smirk as she did so. Halley felt a ball of fire erupt in her stomach at the sight. For the first time in a while, she looked at Shade trying to see what these Auradon girls did. Three weeks of good food and tourney practice had turned him from a scrawny kid into a well-toned athlete. His muscles were starting to become visible even beneath his sweater, and his easy smile and bright eyes made him appear to be exactly what an Auradon cheerleader would look for--a handsome prince. A different kind of heat flushed through Halley’s skin, and she was sure her fingertips were starting to scorch the underside of the bench despite her efforts.

“The Hunt Moon Ball?” Shade echoed, smiling dreamily as Daisy edged her way closer to him on the bench. 

“Yeah, after the game this Friday,” she crooned. There’s supposed to be this crazy eclipse that turns the moon red. There’s a dance outside on the tourney field so we can all watch it.” 

Reality crashed backed down on Halley, snapping her out of her jealous reverie. “Wait, you mean a blood moon?” she demanded. The three girls crinkled their noses at her in distaste.

“No one calls it a blood moon,” the green girl with the brown hair, Fawn, said. “That’s such a gross name.” 

Halley barely registered the girl’s comment. Without excusing herself, she gathered her things and briskly headed back to her room. She could hear Shade calling after her, but she didn’t look back. Her mind was whirling, weeks of research starting to fall into place. She had read something about a ritual for possessions that could only be held during a blood moon, but it was such a rare event, she had just flipped past it at the time. Now she needed to find that book. Without having Mal’s spellbook or Fairy Godmother’s wand, this was the first real shot she had at saving Shade.


	10. Chapter 10

When Shade finally caught up with Halley, she was buried under a growing pile of books in her room. She was sitting on the floor, flipping agitatedly through pages before tossing one book into a pile across the room and snatching up another. She pulled them from all manner of concealed locations--under her bed, between her mattress, stuck in the underside of her dresser--and Shade was surprised to see such an impressive stack materialize. She had done a lot more research than he realized.

Blood Moon a voice whispered in his ear.

“What?” Shade asked, hoping it was just Halley whispering to herself. But she shot him a confused grimace.

“I didn’t say anything,” she replied, turning back to her books. “Here!” she exclaimed suddenly, standing up and crossing the room to show Shade. She shoved a red leather-bound book into his hands, its pages thick and yellow with age. The very sight of it gave Shade an ominous pang of dread, and he could feel his shadows writhe excitedly at the touch of it. Halley had a page marked, and Shade flipped the book open to it. The pages were written in a language Shade couldn’t read, with depictions of cryptic sigils delicately inked around the edges--the same sigils he recognized from his notebook. The most disturbing part was a generic inked man, drawn with shadows wrapping around his ankles trailing onto the next page to take all-too-familiar ghastly forms. 

“Ok, so,” Halley began, pacing the room as she explained, “we know that shadows need a host to survive, and they can’t enter a new one unless that host consents.”

“Or your dad consents for you,” Shade added bitterly.

“Or your dad consents,” Halley nodded. “But the blood moon changes that.” She looped behind Shade and pointed to a circular sigil on the page. “While the blood moon is at its height, the shadows can temporarily live outside of a host without losing their power. And they can move into a new host without permission.” 

“So what does that mean?”

“It means that for the first time we have a chance of getting rid of them,” Halley said. “The most dangerous part is trying to rip these parasites from their host. If we can get them out of you, you won’t be in danger anymore, and then we can fight them.”

Shade grimaced as the shadows shifted inside him again, hissing. “Yeah, they don’t seem to like that idea,” he grunted.

“They might if they can have King Ben instead,” she said. The shadows stopped moving suddenly, as though listening with rapt attention. 

“I’m not going to sacrifice Ben to save myself,” Shade said, surprised that Halley would even suggest such a plan.

“Why not?” Halley asked. She sighed and rolled her eyes. “Ugh, these Auradon kids are making you soft.” In that moment, Shade was back on the isle, listening to his father and the other villains rage against Auradon. Halley was the daughter of a villain, raised by villains, and sometimes that villain nature still showed through.

“No,” Shade said firmly. “If they get Ben, the whole kingdom goes down. It’s not worth it.”

“Fine, fair enough,” she conceded, snatching the book back. “So I guess that means we’ll have to trap them while they’re still out of you, but before they get to Ben.” 

“So how do we do that?” Shade asked.

“I don’t know,” she replied, flipping through more pages. “There’s a couple of sigils here that are powerful, but there’s not really a clear ritual. What I really need is Mal’s spellbook. There’s bound to be something in there about banishing spirits.” 

“So what do we do in the meantime?” 

“I don’t know,” Halley said, snapping the book shut. “I need time to figure this out.”

“But I want to help!” Shade protested. 

“You want to help?” Halley said, quirking her head at him. “Why don’t you try to actually to lay low and not blow our cover every chance you get.”

Shade felt a wave of offense hit him like a slap. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that ever since you joined the tourney team, Carlos De Vil has been sniffing at my heels.” Halley retorted. “If he blows our cover, we’re done.” 

“You told me to blend in!” Shade objected, frustration rising. “You keep saying ‘blend in,’ ‘lay low,’ but you really just want me to sit in a room by myself while you figure this out!”

“Yes! While I figure this out!” Halley shot back. “I am the one trying to help you. You can’t be trusted.”

“I can’t be trusted?” 

“No, Shade! You can’t!” Halley replied. “You’re having episodes, losing time, blacking out, and you’re not telling me about it? How can I trust you?”

Shade ground his teeth to keep from shouting a reply. “I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to worry.” 

“Worry?” Halley laughed. “Shade, the only reason I’m here is to help you! I’m sorry you don’t get to be the gallant hero of this story, but we’re not in one of their fairytales. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m the only one here actually trying to help you. I’m the one doing all of the work while you’re running around with your tourney bros and having a flock of Auradon cheerleaders fawn over you.” Shade smelled fire and could see the wood of Halley’s four poster bed frame was scorched where she was gripping it. 

“Is that why you’re mad?” Shade shot back. “Because I actually like Auradon? Because I actually like living in a place where I don’t have to worry about what’s lurking around the corner? Or wandering into the wrong gang terf? Or being sacrificed to some otherworldly demon by own family?” Shade could hear his voice cracking and his eyes growing hot, but he didn’t care. “I actually have friends here!”

Halley’s blue eyes were chips of ice and her face leveled into a stony calm. “But they’re not your friends, are they?” she said evenly. “They don’t who you are, really. They only know who you’re pretending to be.” Shade looked away from her, unable to meet the stinging truth of her words. “The only reason we’re here,” she continued, “is to stop those things from ripping you apart. We didn’t get an invite. We fought our way out, and no amount of tourney or sweaters or pretty cheerleaders on your arm is going to make you an Auradon boy.” 

With that, she coolly brushed past him and out the door. He had no idea where she was going, no idea why he was left alone in her room, but he didn’t care. The edges of the world were starting to become dim and blurred, whether from the shadows taking over or something else, Shade didn’t know.   
As Shade wandered out of Halley’s room, he nearly crashed into a figure waiting just outside the door. A loud hissing immediately filled his ears, and Shade looked up to see King Ben staring at him curiously. 

“Ben!” Shade exclaimed. “You’re back!” 

“Yeah, we just got back this morning,” Ben explained. “I was coming to meet Mary, since I didn’t get the chance before we left.” He furrowed his brow and gave Shade a confused half-smile. “What are you doing in her room?” 

“What? Oh, um, we were just talking,” Shade stumbled. The voices in his head shrieked and hissed like nails on a chalkboard and it took most of his willpower to resist being physically jolted toward Ben by the shadows. “She just left. I’m not sure where she was heading.” 

“Is everything okay?” Ben asked. “I heard some raised voices when I was down the hall. Were you fighting?” 

“Yeah, everything’s fine,” Shade managed lamely. “Look, Ben, I’ve got to go,” he continued, pushing past the King. 

Shade knew he should be concerned by Ben’s question.He was no doubt breaking a school rule by being in Halley’s room, and what if the King overheard what they were saying? If Halley were there, she would have concocted a smooth lie to relieve Ben’s suspicions in a heartbeat. But Shade’s head was splitting from the piercing shrieks of the voices, and the pain was making it difficult to see, much less concentrate on a lie. 

“Are you alright?” Ben persisted. “You look a little under the weather.”

“Just a headache,” Shade replied, continuing down the hall.

“Let me know if I can do anything to help!” he heard Ben call after him, but Shade was already around the corner. 

By the time he got back to his room, Shade was barely holding it together. The voices were shrieking and twisting in his ears, and he could feel them tugging insistently at his muscles, urging him back toward Ben. He shut and locked his door, hoping some distance would cancel the voices out, but nothing seemed to change. His nerves were still raw as a live wire from his fight with Halley, and the shadows must have sensed it as they filled him with a relentless burning energy. 

Shade paced, unsure what else to do except try to ride it out. The shadows prowled along the wall beside him, jeering and snarling in grotesque forms as he moved. They tugged him as he paced, pulling him toward the secret hiding places in his room where he kept his voodoo supplies tucked away. Images formed in his head--Halley and King Ben, the voodoo dolls and charms sitting hidden in desk drawers and under his bed, the sharp glinting metal of a pair of scissors on his side table. 

Shade paced. Minutes slipped into hours without notice. The room grew dark, whether from the sunset or the shadows, he didn’t know. The images continued to flash until they were more real than his eyesight; the tugs grew from a distraction into an irresistible compulsion. The world lost focus, then lost form, and the last thing Shade knew before the world went black was the sensation of cold metal in his hand as he picked up the scissors sitting on his side table.


	11. Chapter 11

Halley spent the rest of the day fuming after her fight with Shade. She skipped class, storming off to a secluded corner of the library to avoid even the possibility of seeing Shade for a few hours. She was proud that her last retort had been so cool and sharp, but still annoyed that Shade couldn’t see how selfish he was being. The sound of his voice calling her jealous kept playing in a loop in her head, distracting her from her reading. Of course she wasn’t jealous, Halley told herself. Shade was the one living in denial, pretending he was some princeling instead of a demon-infested villain kid. She was the one trying to help him. Why couldn’t he see that? The image of him smiling dreamily at that smirking cheerleader flashed in her mind and Halley nearly singed the corners off her book.

Eventually afternoon turned to evening, and Halley ventured out of the library to get dinner. As she set her tray down at an empty table, she couldn’t help a small pang of worry that Shade was nowhere to be seen. She pushed the thought away, reminding herself that she was still angry. But she was too distracted to even muster proper annoyance as Jane and Lonnie joined her at the table. 

As little as she wanted to admit it, Jane and Lonnie were the closest things to friends Halley had at Auradon Prep aside from Shade. Even after weeks, Lonnie was still determined to find Halley an extracurricular she could enjoy, and after their tour, Jane always stopped by Halley’s spot in the library for a conversation between classes. They would sit with her at meals when Shade was at tourney practice, and even though they were annoying, Halley had to admit that it was slightly reassuring to have a pair of interested faces to converse with every now and again.

“You guys haven’t seen Neeve anywhere, have you?” Halley asked, trying to sound nonchalant. Jane and Lonnie exchanged a look.

“No,” Lonnie said. “No one’s seen him since you two had that fight at lunch.”

Halley flushed. Did everyone at the school know about their fight? Was their cover blown? Surely someone would have confronted her by now if they knew the truth?

“What fight?” Halley demanded. 

“Evie said she saw Daisy flirting with Neeve at lunch,” Lonnie reported, “She said you got mad and stormed off.” Halley tried not to melt the spoon she was holding. She opened her mouth to retort, but Jane cut her off. 

“And King Ben said he heard you guys arguing this afternoon,” Jane chipped in. 

Halley shot her a quizzical look. “King Ben’s back?” she asked. 

Jane nodded. “He was looking for you. He wanted to introduce himself, but he must’ve just missed you.”

“Did he hear what we were arguing about?” Halley asked nervously. If the King overheard their plan, their cover was definitely in jeopardy. 

Jane shook her head. “That’s what he was asking us about. I think he just wanted to make sure everything is alright.” 

Halley nodded and continued eating her dinner in relief. If these Auradon kids were trusting and gullible enough not to pry any further, she had nothing to fear. It took her a few moments of silence to notice that Jane and Lonnie were still staring at her.

“What?” Halley asked around a mouthful of food. 

“Is everything alright?” Jane prompted. 

Halley eyed her suspiciously. “What do you mean?”

“Between you and Neeve?” Jane continued. 

Lonnie let out an exasperated sigh and rolled her eyes. “Oh for Auradon’s sake! Mary, when are you just going to admit it already?”

“Admit what?” Halley asked.

“That you’re in love with Neeve!” Lonnie said. Halley felt her stomach sink and her cheeks grow hot as fire. She nearly choked on a spoonful of peas, and had to take a few spluttering coughs to recover. 

“I’m WHAT?” she managed, when she got her breath back. 

“Oh, come on,” Lonnie said, not backing down. “You and Neeve spend every waking minute together. You’re always talking, and when you saw that cheerleader flirting with him you freaked out.” Halley opened and closed her mouth several times, for once finding no words to articulate her shock. 

“I am NOT jealous!” she eventually managed. “And I am SO not in love with Neeve!” Even saying that word made her skin prickle. 

“Well he’s certainly smitten with you,” Lonnie smirked. 

“Yeah, right,” Halley murmured, immediately averting her eyes to her plate. 

“Oh come on,” Lonnie continued. “He follows you around like a lost puppy.”

“And Ben said he found Neeve in your room,” Jane said, quirking an eyebrow at her.

“We were just talking!” Halley objected. 

“About what?” Lonnie asked.

“None of your business!” Halley snapped. She knew it was a poor retort, but her stomach was twisting in knots and her skin was prickling like a bonfire. “And don’t act so high-and-mighty, Jane,” she added venomously, “everyone knows you’re dating a villain kid.” With that, she stood up with her tray, intending to end dinner there.

“Wait!” Jane interjected before Halley could walk away. She held out a small envelope with a royal blue wax seal. “Ben wanted me to give this to you.” Halley snatched it out of her hand and stuffed it into her bag, worried she might incinerate something as fragile as paper at the moment. She ignored the knowing glance that Lonnie and Jane exchanged as she walked away, and tried to slow down so it wouldn’t seem like she was storming off as she left the table.  
By the time she made it back to her room, the door handle nearly melted at her touch. Halley quickly grabbed a rough black volcanic rock she had nicked from her geology class so she had something to burn while she paced. The events of the day were playing on repeat in her mind: the cheerleader’s manicured hand resting on Shade’s neck, his face in the heat of their argument, Jane and Lonnie’s words, and her own, again and again.

Love.

She had said that word out loud today, maybe for the first time in her life. Even now the mere thought of it sent a shiver up her spine. Of course she wasn’t in love. Villains didn’t fall in love. She had grown up learning to loathe such a sentiment. It made you weak and vulnerable, it was for fools. It wasn’t part of the plan, and it certainly wasn’t something that could happen to her. Certainly not now. Certainly not with Shade. 

No matter how much she wanted it to. 

With a groan, she stopped pacing and plopped down onto her bed. Maybe the Auradon was making her soft, poisoning her thoughts with these fancies, distracting her from the mission at hand. Her story didn’t end with happily ever after. She was here to save Shade. 

Thinking of their plan, she remembered the note from Ben that Jane had given her. She fished the envelope out of her bag and cracked the blue wax seal. Inside was a simple hand-written note from Ben apologizing for not introducing himself earlier and asking her to come to his office at 8pm so he could meet her properly. Halley wondered briefly if she should be suspicious of the invitation, but she remembered Jane prattling on and on about how fixed the King’s schedule was. He probably had just penciled her in like some other council meeting. 

She laid back on her bed with a sigh. Was that all she was to these boys? A name to check off a checklist of meetings for the day? A tool for research? A mere stepping stone to a plush Auradon life? She opened her hand to look at the rock she had been burning and was surprised to see that its rough black exterior had melted and compressed into a smooth glassy orb. 

This was what she was capable of. She was the daughter of a God, a being whose power was unmatched even by the fairies. She was in a land of magic for the first time in her life, and she was spending it locked away in a library. Who knew what else she could do?

Shade’s voice played in her head, accusing her of being jealous. She could picture his easy smile as he joked with the tourney team, as he flirted with pretty Auradon girls. He said he wanted her to stop controlling him, to stop taking charge of the plan. Maybe it was time she listened.

 

* * *

 

King Ben’s office was on the other side of campus, and at night, Halley felt like she was walking a dream. Aside from a few students out strolling the gardens or coming back from a late-night tourney practice, Auradon Prep was entirely peaceful. The crickets filled the night with a rich melody, and the gardens and walkways glowed with dozens of twinkling fairy lights. The night was so still that Halley was startled when a shadow of movement caught the corner of her eye.  
At first she didn’t see anything except the well-lit pathways and glimmering gazebos, but across the way she could just make out a figure moving briskly toward her. It kept to the shadows by the edge of the walkway, and the lights seemed to flicker and dim as it neared them. 

Halley felt her defenses light, like an alley cat raising her hackles. She lit a small flame in the palm of her hand, turning it to keep it hidden. She was nearly ready to attack when the figure stepped into the light, startling her even more. It was Shade. 

Halley let out a relieved sigh and doused the flame in her hand.

“Stars, you scared me!” she exclaimed. Shade didn’t respond, but brushed past her, as if she wasn’t there at all. 

Halley felt a prickle of unease creep up her spine. Something was wrong. Shade was walking too fast, his head lowered and his shoulders hunched. She had seen that kind of prowl on the Isle before when a gang member was going on a hunt, but never from Shade.

“Neeve?” she called, just in case anyone was around listening. Shade didn’t respond. She trotted to catch up with him.

“Shade?” she hissed, still hoping this was just some sort of bizarre prank. “Hey!” She grabbed his arm to try and pull him to a halt. Shade spun on her and Halley jumped back just in time to avoid being slashed by a gleaming pair of scissors he had tucked in his hand. Halley lit a flame in her hand defensively, and by the glow of her fire she could see Shade’s face. He was scowling at her, but his eyes were two inky black pools, empty of any recognition. 

He turned away and continued walking. They were entering the courtyard that led to King Ben’s office. The building was just beyond a pair of elaborate fountains that bordered the walkway, and Shade was headed right down the middle. 

Halley summoned a line of fire on the ground in front of him. She had never used her powers like this before and hoped her instincts would be enough to guide her. She could feel the heat from where she was standing, and Shade flinched away from the burst of flame, hissing. For a moment, Halley felt a thrill of success. But whatever was controlling Shade quickly stepped through the flames and continued down the path. 

Halley felt panic start to sink in. Shade wasn’t himself and whatever was controlling him wouldn’t respond to reason. If she got close enough to try, he would only try to stab her again. The fire seemed to deter him, but if she made it any bigger, Halley would either blow her cover or hurt Shade. Whatever these creatures had planned for King Ben, Shade was only a few steps away from reaching the building. She had to act fast. 

“I am so going to regret this,” Halley murmured to herself as she sprang into the only alternative plan she could think of. Running at full tilt, she crashed into Shade, sending them both over the edge of the walkway and into the fountain. 

As a fire-based God, water was as opposite of an element as Halley could be confronted with. She had always been shy of it, and being thrown into this fountain reminded her why. A shock of cold immediately overwhelmed her, filling her eyes and nose and choking down her throat. She could feel it douse every pore of her skin--suffocating, like she was being buried alive into clammy depths. The fountain was barely knee-deep, and she broke the surface sitting upright, sputtering and splashing for breath. 

If this didn’t snap Shade out of it, she was definitely setting him on fire.

Shade splashed up next to her, coughing and gasping and looking around bewildered and panicked. He no longer had the scissors, and his eyes were back to their usual charcoal hue. It took him a moment to focus on Halley sitting drenched next to him. 

“Halley?” he exclaimed, appearing absolutely baffled.

Halley knew she should probably explain what was going on. She could have explained to Shade that he had been fully possessed by the demons inhabiting him, that the shadows were driving him around like a puppet, that he seemed to be going after King Ben with a pair of scissors which he used to try and stab her, and that she had pulled him into this fountain because it was the only thing she could think to do that would stop him.

But Halley was angry. She was angry that she was drenched in water. She was angry that she had done this for him, just like everything she did, and as usual he was clueless. That anger was a hot ball of fire in the pit of her stomach and it had nowhere to go because her skin was doused like a damper to a candle flame. 

“You know what, Shade, you’re right” she said icily. “You obviously have this whole possession thing under control. You don’t need me to tell you what to do. So you know what? I’m done.” She stood up and stepped out of the fountain, trying to ignore the unbearable squelch of her soaked shoes. “I’m done cleaning up your messes. I’m done trying to solve all your problems. You have fun with your Auradon life.” 

With that, she stalked off. Halley didn’t look at back to see if Shade followed. She kept walking until she was back in her room, ignoring the curious stares of passing students as she dripped across campus. During the walk, all the events of the day threatened to overwhelm her. But by the time she made it back to the safety of her room, Halley felt completely numb. She locked the door, changed her clothes, and buried herself under her blankets, wishing she was anywhere in the world except Auradon Prep.


	12. Chapter 12

Halley had never so strongly considered returning to the Isle of the Lost. Even after a night of fitful sleep, the events of the previous day rested heavily on her mind. She couldn’t shake a feeling of guilt and unease that Shade was obviously getting worse, but it seemed that every time she helped, Halley was caught in the crossfire. The students at Auradon Prep were already talking, and who knew what they would say after last night. She blew off King Ben’s invitation and both she and Shade were wandering soaking wet through campus. It definitely called for suspicion, and Halley tried to avoid suspicion at all costs.

On the other hand, Halley felt as though she was just breaking through with her powers. She didn’t need a banned spellbook or a magic wand to connect with her own raw energy. She was starting to get the hang of it, and she wanted to test her limits. Of course, she couldn’t do that stuck on the Isle of the Lost with no magic. But staying in Auradon was getting more risky by the day.

She mulled over her options all morning, skipping breakfast in favor of a warm a cup of tea heated between her hands. One thing was for certain, even if her image at Auradon was doubtful, Halley refused to be seen as unintelligent. So despite her intentions to spend the rest of the day brooding, she wasn’t going to miss a test in her History of Auradon class. Begrudgingly, Halley drew herself out of her out of her room and made her way to class.

As she entered the classroom, she found King Ben sitting in the front row chatting to Evie and Carlos, who were also in this section. She tried to ignore him and rush to her seat, but Ben stood in her path and fixed her with his best princely smile.

“Hey, I didn’t get the chance to meet you last night,” he said. “I hope you got my note okay.”

“Yeah, sorry I must’ve forgot we were supposed to meet,” Halley replied, trying to muster a fake cheerful smile.

“Well, it’s nice to officially meet you,” Ben said, offering a cordial handshake which Halley reluctantly accepted. “Sorry that was so delayed,” he continued. “I want you to know that I’m here to help every student at Auradon Prep, so please don’t hesitate to talk to me if you have any problems.” 

“Thanks,” Halley said tersely, extracting herself from the handshake. She ignored Evie’s raised eyebrow and Carlos’s skeptical stare as she pushed her way back to her seat. 

Halley usually found Shade sitting in the desk next to her, joking with his tourney teammates and whispering conspiratorially with her when no one was looking. He worked hard to maintain the image that he was a good student, trying to fit into Auradon whatever way he could, but today he was nowhere to be seen. The morning bell rang and Halley wondered if he was going to skip completely when Shade scrambled in at the last minute.

He mumbled a hurried apology to Fairy Flora as he slid into his seat. Halley was ready to fix him with a glare of annoyance, but one glance at him stopped her. Shade looked awful--his skin was pale and pallid, his forehead was pricked with sweat, and his eyes were ringed with dark circles, as though he hadn’t slept in days. He cast a sidelong glance at Halley.

“About last night---” he started to whisper, but Fairy Flora called attention to the front of the class to begin the exam. Halley shook her head slightly, warning Shade that this wasn’t the time or place to talk.

The test started, and the room fell silent except for the scratching of pencils on paper. Halley quickly tried to scribble out the answers to a few questions, but she was too distracted by Shade to focus. He was shifting uncomfortably in his chair, twitching frequently and shaking his head. His leg was tapping nervously and he kept glancing across the room at Ben. Amidst the twitching, Halley kept hearing Shade hiss shhh and stop to himself, the outbursts growing more frequent as the minutes ticked on. Most of his whispers were too quiet for anyone except Halley to hear, but Shade’s discomfort quickly became obvious. His face was drawn with pain, and he kept clenching and unclenching his fist. Even Fairy Flora took notice. She was watching Shade carefully and took a step forward to check on him.

“SHUT UP!” Shade shouted suddenly. The outburst was jarring in the silence of the testing room, causing more than one student to jump. Even Fairy Flora stopped in her tracks. The room fell dead silent except for Shade’s winded panting. 

“Neeve, honey, are you okay?” Fairy Flora finally asked tentatively. Shade glanced around in surprise, apparently just noticing that everyone was staring at him. 

“I--I’m not feeling well,” he managed, fixing his eyes on his paper. He looked like he was about to be sick.

“Why don’t you go see the nurse?” Fairy Flora suggested, clearly unsure of how to handle such a strange situation. Shade nodded numbly, gathered his bag, and quickly stepped into the hall. The class murmured amongst themselves as soon as he left. While Fairy Flora conducted them to quiet down and return to their test, Halley scribbled her fake name across the top of her half-blank paper and headed to the front of the room. 

“Finished,” she said sweetly, handing Fairy Flora her exam. Before Flora could protest, Halley was out the door and down the hall after Shade.   
She found him crouched under the stairwell, sitting with his knees curled into his chest and his hands clamped firmly over his ears. Halley kneeled down so she was face level with him and gently placed her hand over his. His eyes opened and darted around for a moment before focusing on her. 

“Halley?” Shade croaked. She nodded and lightly brushed her thumb across his cheek. “They’re so loud,” he whimpered, squeezing his eyes shut. 

Everything from the past two days melted away. In that minute, only one thing mattered to Halley: these things were hurting Shade, possibly killing him, and she had to make it stop. Halley quickly ran through a list of spells and potions in her head, but no treatment came to mind that would help. They couldn’t risk exposing themselves to Fairy Godmother or anyone else in Auradon. But quick as a flash, a word jumped into her head, a secret location she had come across in her reading that week. There was only a chance that it might work, but a chance was better than none.

“I’m going to help you, but you have to trust me,” Halley explained to Shade slowly, unsure if she could even break through to him. Shade nodded once, not opening his eyes. Gently, she coaxed one hand away and held it firmly, pulling him to standing. She didn’t let go as she led him down the hall and out of the building. 

Since most Auradon students were too young to drive, motor scooters were plentiful on campus. It didn’t take long for Halley to find a royal blue moped with two helmets loosely clipped on the seat. Handing one off to Shade, she pulled her room key out of her pocket and started melting it. In a few seconds, the precise grooves of the key were little more than lumps of smooth metal. Trying to funnel some of her God-of-Olympus power, she pushed the false key into the ignition and turned. Whether her shoddy workmanship actually prevailed or she successfully channeled some sort of magic, the scooter roared to life.   
Halley ignored the shiver that ran up her spine as Shade sat behind her and looped his arms firmly around her waist. 

“Hang on,” she warned him as she turned the throttle for the first time. They wobbled for only a moment before they were on their way, speeding down the road. Despite her lack of experience, the scooter felt more natural to Halley than almost anything else in Auradon. She relished the cool air against her skin and the feel of the road as she rounded curves and crested hills. It was like flying, a sense of freedom she had never even dreamed of on the Isle of the Lost.  
The clipped manicured lawn of campus gradually faded into full beautiful woodland. The road was lined with ferns and flowers, and the trees grew thick and tall with lush green canopies letting in only a dappled golden light. Halley hadn’t realized how tight Shade had been holding her until she felt his arms relax as they crossed into the forest. As they drove further and further away from Auradon Prep, she could feel him unfolding bit by bit, slowly coming back to himself. They drove for a long while before Halley finally pulled to a stop before a suspension bridge only wide enough for a walking path.

Halley tried to ignore the pang of disappointment she felt when Shade let go of her and stepped off the bike. He slipped off his helmet and stood for a moment, breathing slowly and deeply. He already looked better--color had returned to his face and he stood steady with no twitching. 

“Better?” Halley asked. Shade nodded, absently rubbing his temple. Halley set her own helmet aside and reached out her hand. This time Shade took it of his own accord. Without saying another word, she led him across the bridge and into the forest beyond. The path descended down a series of cascading stones that created natural steps to the bottom of a ravine. At the base, the pine trees gave way to a beautiful clearing of crystal clear water and shimmering stone. Halley and Shade emerged onto a flat stone basin stretching out into the water, rimmed by what looked like the ruins of a long lost temple’s columns. They sat at the water’s edge and Halley briefly wondered if anyone had left offerings for the Gods here in centuries long past.

“According to legend, this lake is enchanted,” Halley explained. “The water is supposed to wash away any trace of magic that plagues you.” She reluctantly let go of his hand to hover it over the surface of the water. “I can’t touch it, or it will destroy my disguise. Your problem isn’t strictly an enchantment, so the water can’t fix you, buy maybe it’ll help.” 

Shade cupped his hands in the shimmering water and splashed it onto his face and neck. He let out a sharp breath as the cool water ran down his skin and fixed on his face a weary smile of utter relief.

“They’re gone,” he breathed. “I mean, I can still feel them. They’re still there. But the voices--this is the first time they’ve been silent since this whole thing started.” He shook his head and looked up at Halley incredulously. “How did you find this place?”

Halley shrugged. “Research.” She picked up a stone and absently chucked it into the water, far enough away that the splash wouldn’t reach her. For a moment it was like they were back on the Isle, just the two of them tossing rocks off a cliff top into the sea. But everything was so different now. 

“Thank you,” Shade murmured. Halley hadn’t noticed how close he was sitting and felt a surge of heat flush through her.

“I noticed that the voices seemed to be worse when you’re around other people,” she continued quickly. “I figured getting you away from people was a good place to start. I remembered seeing something about this place and noting that it wasn’t very far away. I just didn’t even think about it until today.”

Shade let out a soft noise somewhere between a sigh and a laugh. “This place is amazing. Halley, you’re amazing.” She looked up to find him studying her, his charcoal eyes somehow soft and piercing at the same time. “Halley, I’m so sorry--for everything. You’ve done so much for me, you do so much, I never even realized how much, and I’ve just been selfish and stupid and--”

“Hey, hey, no,” Halley interjected. “Don’t do that to yourself.”

“But it’s true! As soon as we got to Auradon...I don’t know, I just was overwhelmed. Suddenly there were all these great people and amazing things that I never knew existed, and somehow they could be a part of my life. I guess I just thought if I ignored the problems, if I just focused on the good, somehow the bad would just fade away. But obviously that didn’t work.”

Shade hesitated for a moment, then reached out and took Halley’s hand. She forgot how to breathe.

“And you never gave up on me,” Shade said. “Through everything, you’ve been there fighting for me. Even if I’ve been a selfish jerk,” he smiled. “I wouldn’t have made it half this far without you.”

Halley hadn’t realized when he had leaned in so close, or maybe was she was the one who was leaning. Somehow they were only a few inches from each other. She could count every detail of his face, and the feeling of his hand on hers was making her implode.

“I haven’t been fair to you,” Halley said. She pulled away slightly, hating herself for always reacting with cold distance. “I’ve been controlling and bossy and….and jealous,” she admitted. “Jealous that you had all of these new friends and you were adjusting to Auradon so well. Too well.” She dropped her gaze to study their entwined hands. “And selfishly, I just wanted to keep you for myself, like it used to be. But that’s not right. I didn’t even stop to notice how much you were going through. How much these things were hurting you.” She looked up and couldn’t stop herself from reaching out and running her thumb across his cheek. “I don’t want them to hurt you,” she whispered. “I won’t let them hurt you.”

And suddenly she was kissing him. Kissing him before she could think twice and convince herself out of it. Kissing him because it was what she wanted. Because it was just the two of them here and nothing else--no Auradon, no Isle, no Shadows, just them. And he kissed her back, his other hand interlacing with her hair, pulling her closer. 

When they broke apart, Shade gently pressed his forehead against hers, still holding onto her, just as breathless as she was. She ran her hand down his neck and onto his chest, grabbing the front of his shirt to hold on. She was surprised to feel a small round bump near his collarbone. She reached into the collar of his shirt and fished out the small bird skull necklace she had given him on his sixteenth birthday. 

“You still wear this?” she asked. 

Shade nodded. “I always wear it.” Halley couldn’t help but smile. Despite everything, despite the risk of getting caught, this trinket somehow was still important to him. 

They sat together for a while, just watching the tiny waves of the lake lap against the smooth stone. Halley never imagined the world could be so peaceful, and she would have given every ounce of her powers to keep it that way. 

“What are we gonna do now?” Shade asked eventually. “The blood moon is tonight.” Halley was leaning against him, Shade running his hand along the outside of her arm. 

Halley nodded. “I’ll try to get Mal’s spellbook. But don’t worry, I have a plan.” She hoped saying that out loud would somehow make it true. “Speaking of plan,” she continued, “why were you going after King Ben with a pair of scissors?”

Shade let out a laugh, then frowned. “I think they wanted a voodoo doll so I could control him, but I’m not sure. They kept pulling me toward the supplies. I guess I was going to take some of his hair. Or else just stab him.” 

Halley smiled. “You tried to stab me.”

“I’m sorry.” Halley felt Shade tense up beside her and knew their moment of peace was drawing to an end. “I’m losing more time,” he murmured. “If tonight doesn’t work--”

Halley sat up fully and turned to look at him. “Don’t worry about that. Whatever happens next, I’m with you.” She took his hand. “We do this together.”


	13. Chapter 13

Shade tried to remind himself to breathe as they pulled back into Auradon Prep. The Shadows were starting to rebound after their brief suppression at the lake--he could feel them stirring like animals in a spring thaw, squirming and stretching and whispering faintly. No doubt they were upset that he had controlled them for once, and he was sure they had wicked plans in store for their disobedient puppet. But even with the familiar prickle of anxiety growing in the pit of his stomach, riding onto campus with his arms wrapped around Halley filled him with a calm that even the Shadows couldn’t stamp out. 

Campus was still sunny and beautiful as ever, everyone continuing their lives as if it was just a normal day--no one else had been facing demons, or sharing a secret kiss. Shade brushed Halley’s hand with the back of his own as they walked out of the parking lot and into the clipped lawns of Auradon Prep. She bumped her shoulder against his in acknowledgement before pulling away to a safe distance. Shade knew she was secretive and private by nature, that she wouldn’t want to make herself vulnerable by holding hands with anyone in a public place. Of course he respected that, but since the lake was burning for her, and it was getting hard to resist. 

“There he is! I found him!” a sudden shout from across the grounds interrupted Shade’s thoughts. He turned to find Chad, Jay, and Carlos trotting up to him. Shade was about to call out in greeting, but they were jogging directly at him, and the scowls on their faces made it clear they were not here to be friendly. Jay reached him first.

“What the heck, man?” Jay demanded. He stepped in like he was about to throw a punch, but stopped himself at the last moment.

Shade took a defensive step back, speechless. What was he so angry about? He did have that outburst during the test that morning, but Jay wasn’t even in that class. 

“Why?” Carlos asked pointedly. Why what? A sense of dread unfurled in his belly like a serpent. What if they had figured out who he and Halley really were? What if they somehow knew about the Shadows and his father’s plan? Shade felt Halley press protectively against his arm, radiating heat. A fight was the last thing Shade wanted now, especially over something he couldn’t confirm.

“It’s obvious, isn’t it?” Chad interjected, keeping a safe distance from Shade and a fuming Halley. “He’s a spy here to sabotage us!” 

They know, Shade thought, or perhaps it was the voices whispering to him again. He frantically thought through his options. Should he just confess and try to explain his way out? Deny it and hope for the best? 

Before he could choose, Carlos rolled his eyes. “The other tourney team wouldn’t send a spy in for so many weeks, Chad.”

“Tourney team?” Shade asked, now utterly confused. “What are you talking about?”

“Oh don’t act like you don’t know!” Chad snapped. Before Shade could inquire more, Coach Jenkins trotted up with Fairy Godmother in tow. 

“Neeve!” the Coach boomed. “I hope you have a good explanation for your actions.” Shade nearly melted under the sternness of his gaze. 

“I--uh,” Shade stammered. “Sir, I really don’t know what you’re talking about.” That answer clearly enraged the Coach and the team even more, but how could Shade defend himself against something he didn’t know?

“Maybe we ought to refresh your memory then,” the Coach said. He walked briskly off toward the tourney field, gesturing Shade to follow. The other members of the team prowled close behind, making sure he didn’t stray. Halley hung back, but kept pace with the pack while keeping an eye on Shade. When they arrived at the tourney field, the Coach opened the door to the locker and equipment room, motioning Shade inside. 

Shade felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. The locker room was in ruins. Glass from every window was shattered on the floor. All of the equipment was destroyed--tourney sticks broken into pieces and scattered about the room, tourney balls crushed, even the helmets and pads had been shredded and beaten to pieces. A few of the locker doors hung open, the remnants of tattered jerseys still caught on the hooks. The word TRAITOR was sprayed in harsh black letters over the nameplates on Jay and Carlos’s lockers, and the word FALSE KING sat emblazoned over Ben’s. 

A sudden wave of dizziness passed over Shade and his vision threatened to cut out. He turned to the Coach and the team peering in through the locker room door. 

“Coach, please,” he said. “I didn’t--you know how much I love tourney. You know I could never do something like this.” 

Coach Jenkins shook his head slowly, sadly. “Don’t try to deny this, Neeve.”

“We have proof!” Chad shouted from somewhere near the back of the crowd. 

Coach Jenkins stepped through the destruction toward his office and Shade followed, his footsteps crunching on the broken glass. Fortunately, the Coach’s office was too small for the rest of the team to follow, but Shade was surprised to see that Fairy Godmother had come along. Coach Jenkins pointed to a chair in front of his desk and Shade took a seat, watching the Coach turn the monitor of his computer to face Shade. After a few moments of clicking, a grainy image of the tourney room appeared on the screen, with a timestamp in the corner from the previous night. 

For a moment nothing happened--the tourney room sat empty and silent and occasionally the surveillance footage would flip over to the empty tourney field. The timestamp read shortly after midnight, and suddenly a figure was inside the equipment room. Although the room was dark, the footage was clear enough to show that it was Shade standing there. Shade watched himself snatch up a tourney stick and start smashing out windows and lockers, snapping sticks in half, ripping through every manner of supplies, and utterly destroying anything he could get his hands on.

Shade buried his face in hands, unable to face even a moment more of the video. He had been losing time for so long, but never like this. This was what happened when he tried to resist the Shadows. They knew how much he loved tourney and the team, how desperately he wanted to belong here, and they took any of chance of that away with quick work of their little puppet. Shade felt himself shaking, and it took every ounce of his willpower to keep his emotions from spilling over and erupting. This wasn’t his fault, none of this was. These things had no right to take his life away, and now it all could be over. 

He jumped slightly as a hand rested gently on his shoulder. He looked up to find Fairy Godmother frowning down at him. 

“Neeve, honey, why don’t we go to my office and we can discuss this,” she said gently.

“And who’s going to clean up my locker room?” Coach Jenkins demanded.

“We’ll deal with that,” she assured him before leaning in close to the Coach. “He doesn’t look like he feels well,” she continued in a whisper. “Maybe I can get some things sorted out.” 

Coach Jenkins nodded, and Shade let himself be guided along by the Fairy’s hand on his shoulder. As he walked back through the ruined locker room, he could see his Shadows break away and prowl on the lockers alongside him. They sneered and curled around the painted letters TRAITOR and FALSE KING, and Shade was sure he heard them laughing. 

 

* * * 

 

Fairy Godmother’s office was starting to feel more like a prison than even the Isle of the Lost. She was sitting at her desk, patiently interrogating Shade, while Coach Jenkins hovered with his arms crossed nearby. 

“Are members of the tourney team bullying you?” Fairy Godmother prompted. “Because if they are, we want you to tell us. You won’t get in trouble for it.”  
“Is it Chad?” Coach Jenkins suggested. “I’ve warned him about his attitude before and--”

“No,” Shade interrupted, resisting the urge to roll his eyes at the fruitless interrogation. “No one is bullying me. I already told you, I don’t remember what happened.” 

“Well you’re going to need to come up with something better than that,” Coach Jenkins replied tersely. Shade desperately wanted to shout at them that he was telling the truth, but the truth was so much more than a mere lapse in memory. The Shadows were starting to grow impatient from all the questioning, and it was getting harder to ignore their hissing. 

“Alright,” Shade conceded, hoping to embellish his lie enough to end the interrogation, “the real reason I destroyed the locker room was---um, well--it was just a prank.”

“A prank?” Coach Jenkins echoed.

“Yeah, a prank,” Shade repeated, hoping his lie was half convincing. “I guess I was just jealous of Jay and Ben and Carlos and I just wanted to intimidate them…” 

“By threatening them?” Fairy Godmother prodded.

“Well, Jay and Carlos are villain kids, and Ben brought them here,” Shade continued. “Maybe they shouldn’t be playing tourney at all.” Saying the words out loud made his skin crawl. He had heard plenty of students at Auradon Prep express those same sentiments, and every time, he had no choice but to swallow the bitter resentment that rose in his throat. 

Fairy Godmother merely nodded thoughtfully and even Coach Jenkins looked satisfied at that half-baked explanation. 

“Well, prank or not, what you did was very serious,” she said. “Thank Auradon no one was hurt, but your actions warrant punishment.” 

Fairy Godmother’s words rang like a bell through Shade’s mind, and he could suddenly feel the sharp crack of his father’s cane against his face. Back on the Isle, even though the rule of law was anarchy, any slight against someone with more power would result in ‘punishment,’ usually of the painful variety. Shade had grown up with more scars than he could count. Even though everything else in Auradon was sparkling castles and good hero students, Shade couldn’t deny that his actions were extremely serious crimes, especially by Auradon standards. He hadn’t even considered what the consequences might be. 

“Coach Jenkins and I have been discussing the matter,” Fairy Godmother continued, “and--”

“First and foremost, you’re going to come clean up the mess you made in the locker room,” Coach Jenkins interrupted. He wilted slightly as Fairy Godmother shot him a pointed glance.

“We think it would be best if you were suspended from the tourney team,” she concluded. 

“Indefinitely,” Coach Jenkins added. “Starting with tonight’s game.” It took Shade a few moments of cringing to realize they were done. 

“That--that’s it?” he asked. 

Coach Jenkins raised an eyebrow at Shade. “Is that not enough?” 

Shade felt dizzy with an onslaught of conflicting emotions. Being cut from the tourney team was a terrible blow--the Shadows had taken away the one part of Auradon that he truly connected with and belonged. On the other hand, this was so unlike any kind of discipline he had seen before, he wondered if it was just a calm before the true storm.

“I just--” Shade started, “aren’t you going to….hit me? Yell? Scream? Break something?” The Coach and Fairy Godmother exchanged looks of alarm.

“Neeve, sweetheart, of course not!” Fairy Godmother exclaimed. “We would never do that to a student. Or a child. Or anyone.” She exchanged another look of confusion with Coach Jenkins. “No one treats you that way at home, do they?”

It took Shade a moment to realize that she was not talking about Dr. Facilier and the Isle. He was still pretending to be a princeling, the son of Naveen and Tiana. He shook his head quickly. 

“No, no, of course not,” he said. Fairy Godmother continued to frown at him.

“Even so, we’re going to have to call your parents and let them know what happened,” she said. 

“No!” he blurted. A flash of alarm sparked through Shade like a wildfire. Their fake identities worked as long as they were in the seclusion of the school, but Tiana and Naveen would know he was not their son at a glance. If Fairy Godmother made that call, their entire cover would be blown in an instant.

“No, please,” Shade continued, trying to sound convincing, “there’s no need to worry them about all of this. It was my fault, my actions, and I’ll handle the consequences. They don’t need to know.” 

“I’m sorry, this is out of my hands,” Fairy Godmother said sternly. 

“But--” Shade started to protest, but Coach Jenkins put a firm hand on his shoulder and steered him out of the room. 

“You’re going to come clean the locker room up, but first I’ve got some things to discuss with Fairy Godmother,” Coach Jenkins said, depositing Shade in the hallway. “Stay. I’ll be back for you in a minute.” 

Halley ran straight up to Shade as soon as Coach Jenkins disappeared back into the office.

“What happened?” she demanded. “What did they say?” 

Shade’s mind was whirling--he rubbed his face to buy himself enough time to process a response. “I knew that I was losing time, but the Shadows--they--I destroyed the tourney room. All of the equipment, all of the uniforms, everything. And I apparently called Jay and Carlos ‘traitors’ and Ben a ‘false King.’” 

“Do they know?” Halley murmured. 

Shade shook his head. “I don’t think so.” 

Halley let out a sigh of relief that Shade wished he could share. Relief was difficult to muster when your world was falling apart.

“So what did they say?” Halley asked.

“They’re kicking me off the tourney team.” 

Halley let out a small huff of laughter. “Wow, you really can get away with anything here, can’t you?” Her smile faded as she looked at Shade’s face. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean--”

Shade shook his head. “It won’t matter for much longer, anyway. Fairy Godmother is calling my parents.”

“Your parents?” Halley echoed, quirking her head. “Oh, you mean--”

“Prince Naveen and Princess Tiana,” Shade confirmed. “Which means--”

“Which means we’re running out of time,” she finished. “What about the Hunt Moon Ball? Are you barred from that as well?”

“I don’t know, I didn’t ask. I guess I could try to find out,” Shade said. Halley nodded, recalculating some silent plan. 

“You have to be outside during the height of the blood moon,” she said. “There’s no other way.” Before Shade could reply, they were interrupted by a voice down the hall.

“Hey, Shade!” the voice shouted. Shade felt a chill run up his spine at the sound of his real name. He and Halley spun around to find a wide-eyed Carlos De Vil standing in the middle of the hallway. Shade’s Shadows hissed protectively.

“I knew it,” Carlos said. “I knew you looked familiar. And who else would call me and Jay traitors except someone from the Isle!” 

“Carlos,” Shade started, hoping he could talk his teammate down, but Halley was already charging down the hall. She grabbed Carlos by the shoulder and pinned him against the locker.

“Listen, De Vil,” she snapped, “you’re going to keep your mouth shut about this. No one’s going to believe you anyway.”

“They will when your story starts falling apart,” Carlos retorted despite his obvious terror.

Halley lit a small flame in her other hand and held it close to Carlos’s face. “You’ll have a hard time telling anybody anything with your face melted off,” she growled. Carlos gulped, but refused to break eye contact.

“Oh, please,” he scoffed. “My mother used to threaten me worse than that before breakfast.” Shade was impressed by the remark. Somehow one of the most timid boys from the Isle had grown courageous in Auradon. Halley was not so moved. 

“Maybe you’re used to being threatened,” she crooned, “but what about that dog of yours? It would be a shame if something terrible happened to such a sweet little animal.” Shade wondered for a moment if he should intervene--a frightening amount of villain still shone through in Halley’s threats, and Carlos was clearly shaken.

“You wouldn't dare,” Carlos spat.

“Try me, De Vil,” Halley said, releasing his jacket and stepping aside. Carlos glared at her a moment more before scrambling down the hall and out of sight. “Not a word!” she called after him. 

“You wouldn’t really hurt his dog, would you?” Shade checked. 

“Oh, please,” Halley said, rolling her eyes.

“How long do you think we have until he tells everyone?” Shade asked, imagining Carlos sprinting at top speed back to his gang. 

“Mal, Evie, Jay, and Ben will probably know by the end of the day,” Halley confirmed. “So we need to get moving.”


	14. Chapter 14

Halley spent the rest of the afternoon in a rush, frantically trying to get a plan together. She still hadn’t come across Mal to even try to get her spellbook, so the only hope was that her own research would carry her through the night. The first step was making sure Shade would even be outside during the eclipse.   
Halley waited around the corner in the hall as Shade followed Coach Jenkins away to clean up the remains of the tourney room. After a few more minutes, Fairy Godmother emerged from her office, silver clipboard in tow. 

“Fairy Godmother!” Halley called, springing up to her. Fairy Godmother jumped slightly and placed a hand daintily over her heart.

“Mary, goodness gracious you startled me,” she said. 

“I was wondering if you could help,” Halley blurted, wasting no time. “I know that Neeve trashed the tourney room and got kicked off the team and whatever, but I was wondering if he’s still allowed to go to the Hunt Moon Ball?”

Fairy Godmother paused to consider. “Goodness, I didn’t even think about that,” she said. “But no, I think that’s a privilege for students who behave themselves.”

Fairy Godmother tried to walk away, but Halley stepped in front of her, blocking her path.

“So you’re going to make him sit alone in a room unsupervised?” Halley prompted. “Or are you going to make a staff member miss a historic lunar event just so they can watch him? I would hate to break that news to someone.” 

Fairy Godmother considered for a moment before a knowing smile settled on her face. “He was your date to the ball, wasn’t he?”

Halley felt her stomach churn and her cheeks fill with fire. Leave it to someone from Auradon to look for emotion rather than logic. But if that was the angle Halley had to play, she would begrudgingly play it.

Halley dipped her head and batted her eyelashes, trying to appear bashful. “Yes,” she murmured. “And this my first ever dance at a real school and it just wouldn’t be fair if I had to miss it too.” 

Fairy Godmother beamed at her. “Oh, my dear, who am I to stand in the way of young love?” Halley tried not to grimace at the word. “Of course he can go.”

Resisting the urge to vomit on her, Halley mumbled a quick ‘thank you,’ and zipped down the hall before Fairy Godmother could change her mind.   
The next stop on her list was Evie’s room. As with every formal event, Evie was the go-to designer for gowns. Halley had known she needed a dress since learning about the blood moon and the dance, but she had to swallow a lot of pride to place the order. She drew the line at poofy ball gowns and ruffled lace, but came to the compromise of Greek-inspired draping that reminded her of the old Gods of Olympus. Dress aside, she needed Evie for one more thing.  
Halley opened the door to Evie’s room to find her working alone at her sewing table. She stood up and glared defiantly at Halley when she walked in.

“You’re from the Isle,” Evie challenged. “Carlos told me everything, and--”

“Do you have a silver-lined mirror?” Halley interrupted not wanting to sit through Evie’s accusing lecture. 

Evie looked taken aback. “A--a mirror?” 

“Yeah,” Halley confirmed. “Silver-lined instead of glass. They’re supposed to give a better reflection, but I can’t find any around the school.”

“If this is some sort of trick--”

“Oh, come on,” Halley scoffed. “Your precious Auradon is safe. I’m not interested in taking it over or bringing down the barrier or whatever it is you think.” 

“What about that Shade Facilier?” she asked pointedly. “I heard what he did.”

“He’s not interested in evil plots either,” Halley said, which was mostly true. 

Evie continued glaring, but Halley could tell she was calculating the request. “Look,” Halley tried more humbly, “I need your help. It’s not for anything sinister, but it is urgent.” 

Evie glared for a moment longer and took a step toward her closet. “You promise you don’t need this for some evil plot?” 

Halley nodded, excitement rising. She raised her right hand for emphasis. “I solemnly swear that I am not promoting any evil by use of this mirror.” 

With a sigh, Evie disappeared into an enormous walk-in closet and stumbled back out dragging an ornate mirror across the floor. “It’s heavy,” she commented.  
Halley helped her drag the mirror out, surprised to find that she had little trouble with the weight. It was a beautiful piece--waist-high and wide-cut surrounded by an intricate metal frame. It was perfect. 

“One more thing before I leave,” Halley said, leaning the mirror against Evie’s desk, “I ordered a dress.”


	15. Chapter 15

Shade let out a deep breath as he threw a final cleaning rag into the laundry bin. He had spent the last several hours painstakingly cleaning up the locker room--sweeping up glass, picking up pieces of broken tourney stick, and scrubbing every mark off the locker doors. His Shadows triumphantly hissed the words Traitor and False King as Shade scoured the painted words away, but they were otherwise silent, apparently reveling in their victory. 

The worst punishment of all was the treatment of the team. Guys who had been so friendly and close to Shade the day before now only stopped in to glare at him and check on the damage. Occasionally, someone would dart into the locker room to grab something, but otherwise Shade was alone with his guilt and the ticking sense that his time in Auradon was quickly running out. 

As he placed the cleaning solutions and broomsticks back in the supply closet, Shade noticed that Coach Jenkins was nowhere to be found. In fact, Shade was entirely alone. The Shadows began hissing and stirring at the thought, taking rough shapes on the wall. They vanished when Coach Jenkins jogged back into the room.

The Coach took a slow look around the space. “The place cleans up nice,” he finally said. “You did good.”

“Coach,” Shade blurted, “the team….will they be able to play?” 

Coach Jenkins nodded. “We got some spare equipment from the Neverland team to get us through tonight’s game. We cut it close, but it looks like we’ll get to play after all.” Shade let out a small sigh of relief, happy that his mistakes hadn’t cost the team their big game. Coach Jenkins must have noticed, because he fixed Shade with a confused frown. “What I don’t get is you,” he said. “Why bother destroying everything, then act like you’re worried about whether the team can play?”

Before Shade could respond, Fairy Godmother stepped into the room, glancing around with an approving smile. “Well done,” she remarked. “Now, Neeve, I am of a right mind to suspend you from the dance tonight as well. Such festivities are a privilege here at Auradon Prep.” The Shadows hissed at her and Shade felt his stomach clench with nerves. If he was stuck inside during the eclipse, how could Halley follow through with her mysterious plan? “But,” Fairy Godmother continued, “a certain daughter of Merida came by and made a passionate plea on your behalf,” she grinned. “So I will allow you to go to the dance, where you at least can be supervised for the evening.” 

A mixture of utter fear and elation surged through Shade. Despite everything he had messed up, this part of their plan was still intact. Shade was so distracted that he started to walk out of the locker room before he realized what he was doing. 

“Hold on just a moment, dear!” Fairy Godmother exclaimed, stepping in front of Shade to block his exit. “I have one more thing. I got ahold of your mother today. She seemed very surprised to hear that you were even attending Auradon Prep, but said she would be by in the morning.” 

Whatever elation Shade felt sank to the bottom of his stomach like a lead weight. He was shocked that Princess Tiana had not blown his cover immediately, but she no doubt wanted to face her son’s imposter in person to figure out what was going on. One way or the other, by morning Shade would have no place left to hide in Auradon. 

 

* * *

 

The setup of the Hunt Moon Ball was exquisite-—a polished dance floor was set up on the tourney field, surrounded by speakers, a buffet table, and a small stage affixed with a podium for King Ben to make a speech at the start of the eclipse. A few ropes of string lights hung at the corner of the dancefloor, but otherwise the entire space was fully open to the night sky. The large glowing moon shone clearly overhead, already more than half obscured by shadow. Soon enough the eclipse would be full, turning the moon a full deep red. Shade felt his skin crawl in anticipation, or maybe it was just the Shadows growing restless. 

As beautiful and exciting as his first dance should have been, Shade was too distracted to appreciate it. He was feeling worn and feverish, his muscles ached deeply with a weariness that was not from cleaning the tourney room. The Shadows were stirring with even more excitement than usual, and Shade felt like an old battered toy, ready to burst at the seams. Even worse, the news of his destruction of the tourney room had clearly spread throughout the school. Every student he walked by either shot him a glare or avoided eye contact altogether. 

Shade ducked his head and hovered near the outskirts of the dance, his cheeks burning with shame. He had found an olive green suit among the new wardrobe the school had furnished for him. Paired with a cream shirt and a dark emerald tie, he felt more keenly aware of his status as the imposter son of Prince Naveen than ever. Shade was starting to wonder if he would be better off trying to hide somewhere for the duration of the eclipse when he saw Halley step onto the floor. 

She looked stunning. Her normally casual braid was pinned up into a loose yet intricate bun adorned with a gold leaf clip that accented her fiery red hair. The frosty blue fabric of her dressed draped in perfect waves from her waist like rippling water. Accented with gold shoulder straps and gladiator-style sandals, she looked like a goddess walking the earth. 

It was all Shade could do to smile speechlessly as she walked up and straightened his tie. “You clean up pretty good, princeling,” she teased. “Come on, I have a few things I need to check on.” 

Halley grabbed him by the hand and led him onto the dance floor, past swaying couples and laughing groups until they were within sight of the stage. “Dance with me,” she said, turning to him.

Shade took her waist and pulled her closer, letting her rest her hands along his shoulder and neck. Their height difference was more apparent than it had seemed on the Isle. The music slowed, and they swayed and turned in time to it. Shade was starting to feel dizzy and breathless, but Halley was distracted. Her eyes kept darting to the stage as she turned, her brow furrowed as though she were counting and recounting, calculating the steps in her plan. 

“Everything okay?” Shade murmured. 

“What? Oh, yeah. Yeah, I think so.” Halley let out a deep sigh. “I hope so. I haven’t been able to get Mal’s spellbook. She’s either gone somewhere or surrounded by people, but I have a plan. It will work,” she concluded, more to herself than to Shade.

“Halley,” Shade started, “if everything goes wrong tonight, I just want to say—”

“No, don’t,” Halley cut him off. “Don’t do that. The plan will work. I can do this.” She looked up into his eyes. “Tell me I can do this.” 

Shade gently ran his thumb along her cheek. “I trust you.” 

He leaned in and kissed her, wondering if it would be his last. 

The music faded out and the sound of microphone feedback drew everyone’s attention to the stage. King Ben walked toward the podium, Mal by his side and Fairy Godmother trailing behind. At the sight of them, Shade felt his Shadows lurch forward with a force that nearly knocked him off his feet. He caught his balance and stifled a grunt. The Shadows were past the point of discomfort and were becoming painful, as though they were trying to physically tear their way out of Shade’s body. Halley grabbed onto his hand and squeezed it tightly. 

Ben took the podium, smiling at the crowd below. “Good evening everyone,” he chimed. “Welcome to this historic event. In just a few moments, we will have the first full lunar eclipse that Auradon has seen for three hundred years. Once it reaches its height, the moon will turn completely red for a few minutes. Fairy Godmother wants to remind everyone that this is a purely scientific event, so there is no need to worry about any mystic phenomenon.” Shade heard Halley let out a huff beside him. “It looks like the countdown is about to start. So everyone, count with me, and enjoy the eclipse!”

The podium came alight with large numbers displayed from a projector hidden in the stage, the crowd chanting along with it. “Ten, nine, eight…” The moon was nearly blacked out, only the tiniest sliver of silver remained. “...seven, six, five..” A sudden surge of pain wracked Shade’s body. His bones were tearing apart, his insides screaming with fire. He doubled over, gasping. “Four, three…” He heard Halley calling to him, as if from a distance, but he couldn’t breathe. “Two, one…” Shade looked up to see the moon turn a deep, full red, then his world went black.


	16. Chapter 16

Halley had been prepping for this moment for weeks, but she still felt woefully unprepared. The eclipse was complete, bathing the world in an eerie crimson light. Shade had been doubled over in pain, but the moment the moon turned, he stood upright. He glanced at Halley, his eyes a pure inky black. Whatever was controlling Shade flashed Halley a wicked grin, then it was gone. It moved inhumanly fast, darting through the crowd and heading for the stage. Halley darted around the other side, heading up the stairs and to the podium as fast as she could. 

Creature-Shade was on King Ben in a flash, grabbing him by the throat and turning him so they were face to face. Mal and Fairy Godmother both let out a cry of indignation and ran forward, but a cluster of Shadows swarmed around them and easily pushed them off their feet. Halley sprinted across the stage, reaching Ben just as the creature started opening his mouth to let the Shadows free. Halley pulled Ben backward as hard as she could, sending him hurtling to the floor and safely out of reach. 

Creature-Shade let out a hiss, and took a step forward but stopped, as though hitting an invisible wall. It looked down at the rug it was standing on and blasted it away with a wave of inky black shadow. Underneath, an intricate circle surrounded by sigils was painted into the wood of the stage. The creature looked at Halley and let out an ear-splitting howl of outrage, dozens of ghoulish apparitions swirling around it, but unable to leave the circle. Halley grinned back. This part of her plan had worked. She knew the circle wouldn’t be able to separate those things from Shade, but she could trap them, even during the height of the Blood Moon. 

Halley ran over to Mal, who was sitting up, stunned from being thrown. “I need your spellbook,” Halley demanded. 

“What?” Mal blinked.

“Your spellbook! Where is it?”

“I don’t have it,” Mal said, eyeing the swirling black chaos trapped in the circle.

“What do you mean you don’t have it?” Halley snapped. “You were just using it last week in Sherwood Forest!”

“That was a lie,” Ben said, running up to them. “We made that up for the press to gain credibility for Mal. We thought if everyone believed Fairy Godmother trusted her to use magic, we could build some public trust.” 

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Halley exclaimed.

Mal shook her head. “He’s telling the truth. My spellbook is still locked up in the museum.”

The sharp crack of splintering wood and another inhuman shriek sounded behind them. The Shadows were starting to tear into the stage, but the circle was still in tact. There was no time to run all the way the museum for a final spell.

Fairy Godmother stirred a few feet away, sitting up with a groan. She jumped to her feet when she saw the circle. “What in the name of Auradon is that?”

“He’s possessed,” Halley explained, but Fairy Godmother didn’t hear. She reached out and pulled her wand out of thin air, positioning herself between the teens and the circle. “Stand back, everyone,” she said, raising her wand.

“No, stop!” Halley cried. She jumped out and grabbed Fairy Godmother’s hand just as she released her spell. A bolt of blinding light shot from the wand toward the creature, but missed, burning a hole in the stage instead. “You’ll kill him!” 

Fairy Godmother looked at her incredulously. “What?!”

“He has to be separated from the Shadows,” Halley explained. “If you just blast them, you’ll kill him too.”

“Kill who?” Fairy Godmother asked. Before Halley could respond, a hissing laugh came from the direction of the circle. Shade was more Shadow than human, obscured by an inky blackness that only roughly took his shape. It didn’t take Halley long to realize what the creature was laughing at. Fairy Godmother’s spell had missed Shade, but it had burned a hole right through the edge of the circle, breaking the seal. 

The creature immediately charged at Ben, dozens of Shadows pooling alongside it. Halley reacted instinctively, sending up a wall of flame between the Shadows and Ben before the creature could reach him. The creature hissed at the bright light and tried to flee, but Halley blocked off its escape with another wave of flame. Soon, the creature was surrounded on all sides by an impenetrable wall of fire. 

Halley heard Fairy Godmother let out a gasp and heard faint screams from the fleeing crowd. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that the skin on her arm had turned back to its natural grey-blue. She had diverted all of her magic into making the flames, burning through her disguise in the process.

She heard a raspy laugh that slowly became more human and turned to find Shade standing amidst the flames. The Shadows disappeared around him, leaving him looking almost normal aside from jet-black eyes. He smiled at her. 

“Well done, daughter of Hades,” Creature-Shade said, his words echoing eerily as though a dozen whispering voices were saying his words in unison. “What exactly do you plan to do now?”

Halley frantically racked her brain for a way to at least buy herself some time. “You know who my father is,” she challenged. “You know what he can do to your kind. So I order you to let him go!” 

Creature-Shade only laughed. “Oh, you’re going to have to try harder than that.” He took a step forward toward the surrounding flames. “What are you going to do? Any way you try to stop us will only hurt the boy. Are you really willing to let him die?” Creature-Shade plunged his hand directly into the flames. Halley tried to hold her resolve as she watched his skin blister, but she quickly lost her nerve and let the flames there die out. Creature-Shade chuckled and took another step forward. 

“Let us have the King and we’ll let you and the boy go.” 

“Liar,” Halley spat.

“What are you fighting for?” the creature hissed. “A King who turned his back on you and left you to rot on that Isle? A people who will never accept you for what you truly are? A place that forbids magic except for a select few, who would deny you your birthright? Why protect them when they could care less about you?”

Halley knew the heroic move would be to be defiant, to say that those things were wrong, that it was her duty to protect Auradon. Instead she said, “You’re right.” Halley lowered the surrounding flames to ankle-height. 

“You’re right,” she repeated more boldly. “Auradon has done nothing for me. King Ben and his people was happy to leave us all behind. They didn’t care about me then, and they don’t care about me now.” Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Fairy Godmother still waiting by the side of the stage, staring at Halley incredulously. “I’m sick of Auradon,” she continued, unphased. “I’m sick of these preppy do-gooders taking their happy endings and deciding that I’m worthless. I have no loyalty to them.” Creature-Shade grinned at her. 

“But what is it that you’re going to do to stop them?” Halley challenged. “Your plan is to, what, take control of the King and bring down the barrier? No one will listen to him after seeing all this. You won’t have authority over anything.” The creature grimaced and let out a growl.

“But, I could do so much more for you,” Halley said. Creature-Shade stopped growling and quirked his head slightly, intrigued. “Leave Shade, and take me as your conduit,” she continued. “Think about it, Ben is mortal, even if he is the King. He’s going to start falling apart just like Shade is now, and once the Blood Moon is over, you’ll be stuck there. But I’m the daughter of the God of the Underworld. I’m a demigod, way more powerful and way more durable than either of them. Imagine what we could do together.” Creature-Shade was leaning forward now, his black eyes sparkling. 

“We could bring all of Auradon into our control, and not even the Fairy could stop us,” Halley continued, trying to make the most of the creature’s rapt attention. “All I ask is that it’s a partnership. I’m nobody’s puppet, and I can give you a much bigger fight than he ever did.” 

A dull hissing filled the air, and the Shadows around Shade began to stir once more, eager at the offer. 

“Do we have a deal?” Halley asked, stretching her palm out as if to shake hands. The creature grinned and gave a single brisk nod.   
Creature-Shade tilted his head back and opened his mouth wide, letting Shadows pour out and curl into the air like vials of swirling black ink dropped in water. They swarmed up and around him, forming a heinous black cloud hovering overhead that peaked in grotesque animal forms and faces. As the last drop of blackness left Shade, he collapsed onto the stage like a lifeless ragdoll. The swirling cloud hovered for a moment more, then came barreling full-tilt at Halley with the speed and force of a hurricane. 

Halley squeezed her eyes shut and summoned a burst of flame, hoping against hope that her reactions were fast enough. She felt an impact like she was being shoved, but held firm, using all of her concentration to hold the fire. She opened her eyes to find the swirling blackness of the creature hissing and howling only an inch from her face, but unable to reach her. She stepped back, breathing hard and admiring the perfect sigil burning before her. She had constructed in an instant from her own fire, trapping the creature mid-flight just before it could reach her. 

Without wasting a moment, Halley leaned over the edge of the stage near the stairs and fished out the silver-lined mirror she had stashed there earlier in the day. She took one last look at the pitiful howling creature trapped in the circle--a black shape morphing and re-morphing into a dozen animalistic faces--then she slammed the silver mirror on top of it.

The one consistency she had found in all of her research was that all spirits could be trapped in a silver mirror. It gave a small wiggle of resistance in her hand, then was still, just as the red hue of the blood moon transformed back into silver moonlight. 

As Halley doused the last of her flames, a wave of exhaustion suddenly overwhelmed her. She had extended her powers farther than she had ever thought possible. She heard shouts and the sound of voices running toward her. The last thing on her mind before she lost consciousness was the sight of Shade lying nearby and the hope that she had somehow saved him.


	17. Chapter 17

The first thing Shade noticed when he came to his senses was pain. His body felt battered and bruised all over, his muscles stiff and sore and aching with a deep weariness. He flexed his fingers and toes to make sure they all were still attached, and winced at the tenderness in his left hand. He opened his eyes and looked down to find that it was neatly wrapped in a bandage. Glancing around, Shade was surprised to find himself laying in a hospital bed. The polished stone walls still looked like Auradon Prep, and he wondered vaguely if this was the hospital wing of the school. 

It took him only a moment to notice Halley snoozing in the chair beside his bed. She was still in her Hunt Ball gown, but the disguise she had worn for weeks was gone. Her red hair was once again fiery blue and falling loose from its once-structured bun, and her skin was the same cool grey-blue it had always been on the Isle. Her dress and face were marred with charred black marks of soot, as though she had been close to a fire. 

“Halley,” Shade whispered, his voice hoarse from recovery. She immediately snapped awake at the sound of her name, glancing around nervously for a moment, but smiling slightly when she saw Shade. He hadn’t realized how much he had missed her sharp yellow of her real eyes until he saw them again. 

“Hey,” she murmured. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I’ve been hit by a truck,” Shade confessed. Before he could say more, Halley reached out and took his non-injured hand, her eyes darting across his face as though searching for something. 

“Are you...you?” she asked tentatively. 

Shade closed his eyes for a moment and listened. He could hear the steady beep of hospital equipment and the slightly elevated beating of his own heart. But for once, there was nothing else clamoring in his head except his own thoughts. His skin wasn’t crawling of it own accord, in fact, the only tingle he felt was the heat of Halley’s hand in his own.

“I think so,” he said, opening his eyes. “I don’t hear any voices. I don’t feel them. I—I think they’re gone.” Shade let out a laugh of disbelief and was surprised to find his vision blurring. Before he could help it, a hot tear slid down his cheek. Halley squeezed his hand. Shade shook his head to clear it and looked at Halley.

“Your disguise is gone,” he commented. Halley smiled mischievously. 

“Yeah, I guess I kind of blew our cover,” she said. They both burst into laughter.

“What happened?” Shade asked, once they caught their breath.

“Eh, how much do you remember?” Halley asked. Shade squinted a bit in concentration, trying to dredge up any and all memories from the night.

“I remember being at the dance, then King Ben went to the podium to make a speech. The eclipse started, the moon turned red, then—nothing.” Shade wracked his memories, trying to find some impression of the event—fire, screams—but mostly only blackness. “What happened after that? How did you stop them?”

“Oh, nothing too important,” Halley teased, “I just trapped them in a silver mirror.”

“But how did you get them to leave me?”

“It was no small feat, believe me,” Halley continued. “But I had some trickery up my sleeves.” The echoing click of a door opening down the hall interrupted their conversation. Halley immediately tensed up, eyeing the entrance to the hospital wing suspiciously. 

“You still have our stuff from the Isle?” she asked without looking away from the door.

“Yeah, why?” 

“I think we might be needing it again pretty soon.”

Shade felt the cold weight of dread drop into his stomach like a brick. He knew that reality was coming, but he wasn’t ready to face it yet. Despite everything, Auradon Prep had started to feel like a home to Shade. He loved his friends, he loved tourney, and he even found enjoyment in the most boring of classes. But everything had been destroyed. The team had turned their backs on him for good reason, and who knew what the school thought of him after the events of the dance. Even so, the very thought of returning to the Isle left a bad taste in his mouth—the moldy, rotted leftovers that made their meals; the moth-eaten hand-me-downs they wore as clothes; and his father, who last time he had seen him, tied Shade to a chair and left him as a sacrifice. 

“I don’t think I can go back,” Shade admitted quietly. “I don’t think I can face my father again after everything that happened.” Halley nodded, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze.

“We’ll figure it out, don’t worry.”

The door to the infirmary opened with a whoosh, admitting a nurse, Fairy Godmother, and King Ben. 

“Ah, he’s awake,” Fairy Godmother noted. “Maybe now we can get some straight answers.” 

The three gathered around his bed, the nurse checking a nearby clipboard, Fairy Godmother and King Ben staring Shade down. Shade felt his cheeks grow hot and kept his eyes averted, but Halley met their gaze, a challenge in her eyes. 

“Maybe you should let him rest for a while longer,” the nurse commented. “You should be resting, too,” she said to Halley. 

“I’m fine,” Halley replied tersely. 

“It’s okay,” Shade said more gently. “I think everyone deserves an explanation.”

“So you’re not the children of Tiana and Merida,” Fairy Godmother observed.

“Obviously,” Halley chided. 

“You’re from the Isle,” Ben interjected. “Carlos told me. Son of Dr. Facilier, and I believe daughter of Hades, if I’m not mistaken.” Halley raised an eyebrow at him and Shade nodded. 

“Look, everything that happened was my fault—” Shade started.

“No,” Halley interrupted. “None of it was your fault. That’s the entire reason we came to Auradon.”

“How did you even get here?” Ben asked. 

“We hitched a ride on the garbage barge,” Halley replied. 

“Impossible,” Fairy Godmother interjected. “The barrier would have stopped you, even if you were on a ship.” Halley averted her gaze to the floor evasively and did not respond.

“Come on, guys,” Ben said, “we have to trust each other here. That’s how this works.”

“Poison,” Shade blurted. “We drank poison. Enough that the barrier didn’t register us as anything more than a dead fish.”

Ben gave him an incredulous look. “You could have died!” 

Halley shrugged. “We didn’t have a choice. We had to get into Auradon, and saying ‘pretty please’ wasn’t gonna cut it.”

“Why did you need into Auradon?” Ben asked. 

“Did it have to do with those things last night?” Fairy Godmother interjected, her usual soft and cheerful demeanor replaced with something crisp and commanding. “What were they?” 

“Shadows,” Shade said, looking away. The very word still sent a chill up his spine. 

“What?” Ben asked. 

“Spirits,” Halley explained, “from the Other Side. They were using Shade as a conduit.” Fairy Godmother and Ben exchanged confused glances. Halley rolled her eyes. “It means they were inhabiting Shade’s body.”

“They could make me do things,” Shade explained. “They were controlling me, and I couldn’t do anything about it. One minute I would be here, then I would just black out, and who knows what I did in the meantime.”

“That’s what happened to the tourney room!” Ben exclaimed. “So it wasn’t really your fault, then.”

Shade shook his head. “I would never.”

“How did this happen?” Fairy Godmother asked. 

“My father…” Shade started, but his voice caught. He had trouble thinking about his father, let alone explaining it to these powerful strangers. 

“Dr. Facilier made a deal with the Shadows,” Halley explained quickly. “They wanted power. He gave them Shade. We came to Auradon to get help.”

“Why didn’t you just come talk to us?” Fairy Godmother asked. 

“We would have helped you,” Ben added. 

Halley scoffed. “You never would have helped us. If we told you what was going on, you would have shipped us straight back to the Isle, and don’t pretend like you wouldn’t have. We were a threat, and we would have been safely locked back up in that little bubble where we couldn’t hurt anyone. At least not anyone in Auradon. Never mind that Shade would have died from those things.”

Fairy Godmother opened her mouth to protest, but Halley cut her off. “Or you would have killed him here trying to help.”

Fairy Godmother’s face turned red. “I would never hurt anyone! Even if—”

“Yes, you would have, because you almost did it last night,” Halley retorted, unphased. “You shot a blast of light straight at him. You’ve never studied dark magic, so you don’t know how to handle these things properly. Plus, there’s no way you would have listened to me if I had tried to tell you. I’m just a child after all, and you would never to listen to a child, especially one from the Isle trying to explain to you how dark magic works!”

Halley finished with chin held high, but Shade could feel her radiating heat and was glad she had let go of his hand. Fairy Godmother glared at her, opening her mouth a few times, but unable to come up with a retort. Ben shot and alarmed look at Shade, who gave him a shrug. They needed to get out of the crossfire before things got really heated. 

“Well, I think we’ve got what we needed for now,” Ben said, clasping his hands. “Why don’t we go and let them get some rest?” Fairy Godmother nodded and stalked off.

“Ben,” Shade called, before he could follow. “Are you really sending us back to the Isle?” Shade wasn’t even sure he wanted to hear the answer, but anxiety was starting to swarm in the pit of his stomach.

Ben shrugged and let out a sigh. “Honestly, I don’t know, Neeve—er, Shade, sorry. I know a lot of what happened wasn’t your fault, but you both still lied to everyone for a long time. And you put Auradon in danger. It’s a lot to think about. I’ll have to talk it over with Fairy Godmother and some of my other advisors before I make a decision.” Shade tried not to let his disappointment show through. 

“Ben,” Halley said, standing up and stepping close to him. “Look, if it comes down to it, send me back to the Isle, not Shade.” Her voice was low, and Shade wondered if she didn’t mean for him to hear the conversation. “Every rule we broke was my fault. I’m the one who got us off the Isle; I’m the one who came up with the idea of disguises; I’m the one who orchestrated everything. Anything Shade did was because of those things. He’s innocent.” She glanced back at Shade for a moment. “Plus, he’s actually happy here,” she murmured. “He loves Auradon, Ben, and you know it. He fits in here. Don’t take that away from him.”

Ben studied Halley thoughtfully, a slight smile on his lips. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Halley sat back down as Ben left the hospital wing. The nurse wandered up and laid a hand gently on Halley’s shoulder. “Why don’t you get some rest, dear. They can’t do anything more tonight.” Halley nodded and Shade noticed for the first time how exhausted she looked. Weeks of fighting for him had taken a toll, especially with whatever she had done to save him. 

Halley reached over and gave his hand one last squeeze before letting the nurse lead her to wash up and get changed. Shade watched her go in awe, wondering what on earth he had ever done to deserve someone so fiercely loyal, and knowing that he could never survive without her.


End file.
